PSX makes meagre recovery after meltdown

KARACHI: Pakistani shares on Tuesday staged a partial recovery of staggering overnight losses as global equities bounced back a day after world markets rattled on fears of a US recession.
Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said stocks closed higher, led by second and third scrips, amid a recovery in global equities and strong corporate earnings.
He added that the discovery by the Pakistan Oilfield at the TAL block and a surge in international crude oil prices also helped the index stay in the green.
Topline Securities Ltd said equities experienced recovery, mirroring the trends of international markets. Hub Power gained on the news that the Chinese automotive giant BYD is set to make its official entry into the Pakistani market with a grand brand launch scheduled for August 17.
Companies such as Systems Ltd, Hub Power, Pakistan Services Ltd, Habib Metropolitan Bank Ltd, and Habib Bank contributed positively, adding 242 points to the index. Conversely, Bank Al-Habib, Lucky Cement, and PSO had a negative impact, subtracting 159 points.
As a result, the benchmark index hit an intraday high of 77,746.49 points and a low of 77,035.96. However, the index settled at 77,191.34 after adding 106.85 points or .14pc on a day-on-day basis.
The overall trading volume rose 17.89pc to 600.89 million shares. The traded value, however, fell 18.66pc to Rs17.12bn on a day-on-day basis.
Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included Kohinoor Spinning (147.51m shares), Yousaf Weaving (53.67m shares), Hascol Petroleum (41.38m shares), WorldCall Telecom (25.01m shares) and Telecard Ltd (24.53m shares).
The shares registering the most significant increases in their share prices in absolute terms were Nestle Pakistan (Rs148.69), Sapphire Fibres (Rs109.60), Leiner Pak Gelatine (Rs33.98), Khyber Textile (Rs33.54) and Pak Tobacco (Rs26.52).
The companies registering significant decreases in their share prices in absolute terms were Unilever Foods(Rs165.50), JDW Sugar Mills (Rs25.78), Ismail Industries (Rs23.91), Service Indu­stries (Rs18.37) and Atlas Honda Ltd (Rs16.05).
Foreign investors rem­ained net buyers as they purchased shares worth $1.38m.
Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2024