The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw a modest rebound on Friday after several sessions of heavy losses. By the Friday prayers break, the benchmark KSE-100 index had climbed over 1,253 points, or 0.84%, reaching 148,596 points, amid market uncertainty caused by the ongoing catastrophic floods in Punjab.
A total of 457 companies traded their shares during the session, with 278 recording gains, 165 posting losses, and 14 remaining unchanged.
Investors remained cautious due to potential flood damage to Punjab’s agriculture sector and the subdued growth outlook indicated by the central bank.
On Thursday, the KSE-100 index had continued its bearish streak, dropping 150.52 points, or 0.10%, to close at 147,343.51 points.
Trading volume on Friday totaled 935,466,958 shares, up from 856,664,471 shares on the previous day, while the value of traded shares rose to Rs 33.515 billion from Rs 29.286 billion.
The three top trading companies were Pace (Pak) Limited with 71,482,279 shares at Rs8.06 per share, Bank Makramah with 66,004,498 shares at Rs5.81 per share and Pak Elektron with 51,186,186 shares at Rs46.83 per share.
Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited witnessed a maximum increase of Rs757.14 per share price, closing at Rs 33,077.14, whereas the runner-up was Sazgar Engineering Works Limited with Rs149.52 rise in its per share price to Rs1,644.75.
PIA Holding Company LimitedB witnessed a maximum decrease of Rs377.99 per share, closing at Rs26,622.01 followed by Sapphire Textile Mills Limited with Rs61.37 decline in its share price to close at Rs1,370.00.