ISLAMABAD, Jul 14 (Xinhua) -- The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) smashed the all-time peak for the third straight day on Thursday as upbeat foreign investors remained on the buying counters.
The foreign investors bought holdings for the fourth day on the trot on Wednesday to take their monthly tally to 24.065 million U.S. dollars by July 13, 2016, the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) data showed.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange's benchmark KSE 100-Index surged by 0.53 percent or 207.54 points to hit a yet another all-time peak of 39,257 points on Thursday when compared with the previous all-time high of 39,049.46 points recorded on Wednesday. This was the fifth straight bullish session for the key index which has accumulated 1,473.46 points during the historic run.
The KSE All-Share Index grew by 0.28 percent or 73.61 points to 26,207.06 points, the KSE 30-Index elevated by 0.68 percent or 154.36 points to 22,750.64 points, the KMI 30-Index smashed the 70k-barrier with a gain of 0.82 percent or 571.76 points to close at 70,022.74 points, whereas the Islamic All-Share Index swelled by 0.47 percent or 86.43 points to 18,298.15 points.
During Thursday's trading session, the main index moved in a condensed range of 346.52 points as the main index touched the historic all-time intraday peak of 39,94.563 points as against an intraday low of 38,948.04 points.
The first session proved volatile which saw most of the scrips changing lanes from green to red. However, things stabilized in the second half, thanks to the auto sector which posted healthy sales figures for the outgoing fiscal year. Honda Atlas Car (HCAR) and Indus Motor Company (INDU) closed at their upper limits of 5 percent.
Cement stocks continued to attract investors as Dera Ghazi Khan Cement (DGKC), Maple Leaf Cement (MLCF) and Fauji Cement Limited (FCCL) expanded by 0.6 percent to 2.5 percent.
Market volumes reduced by 15.89 percent or 31.164 million shares to 164.963 million shares on Thursday when compared to 196.128 million shares traded hands on Wednesday.
Market capitalization improved by 0.27 percent or 21.22 billion rupees (208.046 million U.S. dollars) to 7.856 trillion rupees (77.023 billion dollars) whereas trade value dropped 23.58 percent or 3.589 billion rupees (35.189 million dollars) to 11.634 billion rupees (114.063 million dollars).
Among 364 active scrips on Thursday, prices of 213 issues advanced, 126 depleted, whereas values of 25 other entities stayed unchanged.
Dewan Cement Limited (DCL), Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), and Karachi Electric Limited (KEL) were the top traded companies with turnovers of 13.759 million shares, 10.879 million shares, and 10.672 million shares, respectively.
Indus Motor Company was the top price gainer with an increment of 48.77 rupees (47.81 dollars) to 1,051.4 rupees (10.31 dollars) while on the flip side Rafhan Maize led the major price shedders with a decrement of 370.55 rupees (3.63 dollars) to 7,040.45 rupees (69.02 dollars).
