RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at a new record high on Tuesday, driven by investor optimism ahead of the upcoming budget. However, trading activity declined sharply as market participants remained cautious, resulting in significantly lower volumes and values.

Despite slow trading activity, the benchmark KSE-100 Index settled comfortably above the 122,000 mark. The KSE-100 Index climbed by 383.44 points, or 0.32 percent, to settle at 122,024.44 points on Tuesday compared to 121,641 points on Monday.

The index fluctuated within a narrow band amid uncertainty surrounding the budget announcement. The index touched an intraday high of 122,611.53 points and a low of 121,590 points.

On Tuesday, BRIndex100 closed at 13,079.70 which was 45.45 points or 0.35 percent higher than the previous close. Total volume was 481.593 million. Meanwhile, BRIndex30 lost 70.24 points or 0.18 percent and ended at 37,957.57 points with the total volume remaining 298.193 million.

Investors exercised caution during Tuesday’s session, adopting a “wait-and-see” approach ahead of the federal budget announcement scheduled for later in the day, an analyst at Darson Securities noted. This cautious sentiment translated into a significant slowdown in market activity compared to the previous day.

The ready market turnover fell to 592.95 million shares from 854.617 million shares the day before. Similarly, the traded value dropped to Rs 21.82 billion from Rs 25.79 billion. However, despite the lower volume and value, total market capitalization rose by Rs 40 billion, reaching Rs 14.768 trillion from Rs 14.728 trillion.

Cnergyico PK led the volume charts with 61.37 million shares traded; its stock closed at Rs 8.03. K-Electric Ltd. was the second most active stock, with 59.08 million shares changing hands, though its price fell and closed at Rs 5.62. Dewan Cement also saw heavy trading with 45.55 million shares, closing significantly higher at Rs 15.52.

The day’s top gainer was Sapphire Fibres Limited, whose value surged by Rs 96.67 to close at Rs 1,152.79. Sapphire Textile Mills Limited also saw a substantial increase of Rs 43.08, closing at Rs. 1,143.08. On the losing side, PIA Holding Company LimitedB was the biggest decliner, with its price dropping by Rs 2,879.00 to close at PKR 25,910.98. Khyber Textile Mills Limited also experienced a significant fall of Rs 273.52, ending the day at Rs 2,461.65. Out of 473 total active companies, 230 saw their share prices increase, 200 registered declines, and 43 remained unchanged.

Meanwhile, BR Automobile Assembler Index closed at 21,149.85 with a net positive change of 134.49 points or 0.64 percent with a total turnover of 5.627 million. BR Cement Index gained 16.34 points or 0.16 percent and ended at 10,258.58 points.

BR Commercial Banks Index closed at 36,503.30 with a net positive change of 285.32 points or a 0.79 percent on 56.082 million shares. BR Power Generation and Distribution Index ended at 21,643.76 points with a net positive change of 189.07 or 0.88 percent and a total turnover of 63.67 million shares.

BR Oil and Gas Index closed at 11,516.48 with a net negative change of 25.75 points or 0.22 percent and a total turnover of 18.864 million. While BR Tech. & Comm. Index finished at 2,986.40 with a net negative change of 16.41 points or 0.55 percent, with a total turnover of 41.184 million shares.

Topline sales desk cited that the stock market witnessed a range-bound session on Tuesday, with the index fluctuating within a narrow band amid uncertainty surrounding the budget announcement. The positive momentum was largely supported by strong performances from FFC, PKGP, BAHL, MEBL, and BAFL, which collectively contributed 499 points to the index.