· Index closed in the green zone today as investors became optimistic about IMF’s Executive Board meeting on January 12. Profit taking was witnessed in the first trading hour as coronavirus positivity ratio exceeded 2% in a single day for the first time since October 14 last year. Fertilizer sector remained in the limelight due to expectation of price hike of urea in the market. Cement sector remained under pressure due to the uptick in international coal prices. Activity continued to remain side-ways as market witnessed hefty volumes in the 3rd tier stocks.

· The Index closed at 45,345.6pts as against 45,082.3pts showing an increase of 263.pts (0.58% DoD). Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (+108pts), Fertilizer (+98pts), Power (+46pts), E&P (36pts) and Engineering (+11pts).

· Volumes decreased from 345.2mn shares to 242.3mn shares (-29.8% DoD). Traded value also decreased by 40.1% to reach US$ 44.9mn as against US$ 74.9mn.

· Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include TELE, WTL, TRG, UNITYR3 and SILK.

Courtesy – AHL