The Pakistan Stock Exchange on Tuesday rose to one of its highest-ever levels, crossing the psychological barrier of 54,000 points, even if it closed the day lower than yesterday's close.
The KSE-100 index opened at 53,8860.36 points. Early in the day, the positive momentum from Monday carried over when the index gained over 700 points. As a result, it quickly gained 452.53 points in the opening session as it breached the 54,000-point psychological barrier and surged to an all-time high of 54,312.89 points.
This is when investors decided to do some profit-taking, driving the index downwards.
This trend was a prominent feature in the second half of the day, with the index ending in the negative, dropping 577.16 points by day end.
The index closed at 53,734 level, down 0.23% or 124.63 points compared to Monday's close of 53,860.36 points. This was the first session that ended on a negative note after six consecutive positive sessions. It follows a week where the index rose past the psychological barrier of 53,000 points for the first time in six and a half years.
On Tuesday, over 505 million shares were traded, worth Rs18.2 billion.
During the day, banks, oil marketing companies, exploration and production, power and tobacco sectors contributed negatively as Bank Al Habib (BAHL), Pakistan State Oil (PSO), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), The Hub Power Company Limited (HUBC) and Pakistan Tobacco Company Limited (PAKT) lost 135 points, brokerage TopLine Securities said in their report.
On the other hand, some stocks like Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK), Colgate-Palmolive Pakistan Limited (COLG) and Engro Fertilizers Limited (EFERT) saw an increase in their stocks with investors buying their stock. They had a combined positive contribution of 160 points.
Notably, CNERGY led the volumes chart with the trading of over 50.4 million shares.
One reason for the current positive momentum is the hope that the ongoing International Monetary Fund (IMF) review for the next tranche of the Stand-By Arrangement will go through smoothly. The other reason is that despite the positive movement in the bourse, company stock remains available at comparatively lower prices and is thus attracting investment.