KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained volatile on Friday to close at 42,787 points level, up 104 points in anticipation of FTSE and S&P rebalancing of PSX stocks from Frontier to Emerging Market.
Volumes shrank in Friday’s session as 200 million shares were traded in the overall market, compared to 217 million shares in the last trading session.
Mixed sentiment were witnessed in the banking sector where Habib Bank Limited (HBL) gaining 3.73 percent and Askari Bank Limited (AKBL) gaining 0.84 percent closed in the green zone, while on the flipside MCB ABnk Limited losing 2.66 percent, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) losing 0.40 percent and Bank Alflah Limited (BAFL) losing 1.66 percent closed in the red trajectory.
In the Exploration & Production (E&P) sector, Oil Gas Development Company (OGDC) and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) announced their results for Fiscal Year (FY17) on Friday, where OGDC lost 1.10 percent value as it posted EPS of Rs 14.83 accompanied by a DPS of Rs 2 taking full year DPS to Rs 6. Whereas the PPL lost 0.40 percent value while positing an EPS of Rs 18.10 and DPS of Rs 6.
The Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGP) losing 3.17 percent and the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) losing 0.41 percent from the gas utility lost value to close negative on the back of news that both the companies have rejected the 7.1 percent unaccounted for gas (UFG) losses proposed by consultants hired by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) but agreed on raising the levels from the existing 4.5 percent.
Investor interest was seen in cements as Pioneer Cement Company (PIOC) with 1.89 percent gains, DG Khan Cement with 1.17 percent gains, Maple Leaf Cement (MLCF) with 1.14 percent gains and Lucky Cement with 1.10 percent gains all closed in the green zone.
“We expect positivity to continue for the coming week and recommend investors to book profits on strength,†said Maaz Mulla, an analyst at JS Research.
