KARACHI: The booming Pakistan stock market saw the KSE-100 index roar past the 42,000 barrier in a gaining streak for fourth session in a row.

The benchmark added 353 points (0.80 per cent) and closed at 42,188. The index opened on a positive note and remained bullish throughout the trading session. Another Rs80 billion were added to the market capitalisation in a single day on Thursday.

But that was not half as surprising as the volume, which jumped to a staggering 919 million shares, representing a 15.5-year high last seen as far back as on March 9, 2005.

In the absence of another high return avenue, cash is pouring into the equity market, which has sent the stocks climbing by 50pc from its March lows. The shares were carried higher by massive buying by “individuals” in the sum of $7.46m. “Investor sentiment has been sky high in recent times, especially on the expectation of an announcement by prime minister on his scheduled visit to Karachi tomorrow” stated analysts at Arif Habib Ltd.

The strong emphasis of the government on infrastructure development is expected to positively impact construction sector scrips, which prompted investors to take interest in cement and steel stocks.

Buying in cement shares received a further boost in the last hour after the Maple Leaf notified the exchange that it had acquired 10.90pc stake in the total issued voting shares of Pioneer. Major gainers on the sector were Maple Leaf, Pioneer, Cherat, Fauji and DG Khan.

Sectors contributing to the index performance included cement, higher by 89 points, banks 51 points, oil and gas marketing companies 44 points, textile 41 points and fertiliser 35 points.

Stocks that contributed positively to the index included Maple Leaf Cement, Systems Ltd, Kohinoor Textiles, National Bank and Pioneer. On the other hand, shares negatively impacting the benchmark included Hub Power, Bank Al Habib, Pakistan Oilfields and Oil and Gas Development Company.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2020