The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday started the first trading day of the new business week on a positive note and topped 148,000-point mark as Fitch Ratings forecasts Pakistan's GDP growth to reach 3.5pc by 2027 as inflation eases, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
At the end of final session, the PSX’s KSE-100 index stood at 148,196.42 points, marking an increase of 1,704.792 points, or 1.51 percent.
Of the total 465 companies traded today, share prices of 290 companies went up and shares of 162 companies went down, while 13 remained unchanged.
The upbeat start comes after the market ended the last session on a bearish note, with investor sentiment subdued due to profit-taking.
Trading activity remained active across key sectors, including banking, energy, and cement, as investors look to capitalize on lower valuations from the previous session’s dip.
Earlier on Friday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index had shed 37.67 points, a slight negative change of 0.03 percent, closing at 146,491.63 points.
A total of 473,601,407 shares were traded during the day as compared to 647,094,379 shares the previous trading day, whereas the price of shares stood at Rs 32.882 billion against Rs 40.896 billion on the last trading day.
As many as 479 companies transacted their shares in the stock market, 226 of them recorded gains and 219 sustained losses, whereas the share price of 34 companies remained unchanged.
The three top trading companies were Aisha Steel Mill with 30,027,480 shares at Rs 13.47 per share, Media Times Limited with 21,707,355 shares at Rs3.62 per share and Air Link Commun with 19,881,458 shares at Rs 168.04 per share.
Hoechst Pakistan Limited witnessed a maximum increase of Rs 280.91 per share price, closing at Rs 3,506.71, whereas the runner-up was Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited with Rs41.00 rise in its per share price to Rs 32,000.00.
PIA Holding Company LimitedB witnessed a maximum decrease of Rs856.90 per share closing at Rs 27,814.97 followed by Nestle Pakistan Limited with Rs103.97 decline in its share price to close at Rs8,654.09.
Reporter Kavish Memon