PSX continues to climb despite Pak-India tensions

Despite rising tensions with neighbouring India, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday closed in the green as an early bull run allowed the KSE-100, the benchmark index of the PSX, to reach an intraday high of 115,844.88 points. 

Data from the PSX revealed that the KSE-100 index peaked at approximately 9:22 AM after which a large sell off was recorded in the market that lasted until 2:46 PM, causing the market to hit an intraday low of 113,716.60 points before recording a swift recovery to close at 115,469.34 points.

For reference, the KSE-100 closed at 115,019.81 points on Thursday after which the index recorded a growth of 0.39 percent during trading hours on Friday, allowing for a 449.53-point rise.

According to reports, the index plummeted by over 2,200 points during trading hours on Thursday, owing to tensions with India.

Of the 17 indexes on the PSX, 14 remained in the green with the All-share index (ALLSHR) being one of the four indexes that were in the red. The index shrank marginally by 0.01 percent, which translates into a 9.08 point decline. Unlike the KSE-100, which tracks the performance of the 100 largest and most liquid companies, the ALLSHR index records the performance of all publicly listed companies on the PSX.

While recent global and regional geopolitical issues have caused a pullback in the PSX, data from the exchange reveals that the ALLSHR index has shot up by a staggering 52.87 percent over just one year, with the KSE-100 recording an even greater rise of 60.44 percent over a one year period.

A vast array of companies has witnessed a rise in share prices with First Capital Equities Limited (FCEL) and PICIC Insurance Limited (PIL) winning big – to the tune of growth rates that sat at 24.24 percent (FCEL) and 18.94 percent (PIC). 

However, not every publicly listed stock witnessed an improvement as many companies witnessed sharp declines. Of these declining companies, the one that fared the worst during intra-day trading was Ghani Chemworld Limited (GCWL), which posted a 11.11 percent decline in its position.

Trading volume of regular stocks stood at an impressive 471,072,967 shares, translating into a total value of over Rs27.3 billion.