Market remained upbeat today in anticipation of budgetary measures, which was further supported by an uptick in international crude prices courtesy of Brent that crossed US$ 70/bbl. The index added a total of 341pts during the session, and closed +273pts (unadjusted). O&GMCs and Power sector took turns on the back of release of payments due from Govt. on account of circular debt, however, no news came to fruition. E&P sector contributed to the upside in Index on the back of positivity in crude oil prices, whereas Fertilizer sector added points to the table on budget incentives. Among scrips, WTL topped the volumes with 353.9M shares, followed by BYCO (94.1M) and SILK (86.1M).

· The Index closed at 48,191pts as against 47,896pts showing an increase +295pts (+0.6% DoD). Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (+83pts), Fertilizer (+57pts), Power (+25pts), Pharma (+23pts) and Textile (+17pts).

· Volumes declined from 1,412mn shares to 1,392mn shares (-2% DoD). Average traded value also declined by 5% to reach US$ 207.4mn to US$ 197.29mn.

· Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include WTL , BYCO, SILK, PTC and PIBTL, which formed 46% of total volumes.

· Stocks that contributed positively to the index include ENGRO (+41pts), PPL (+39pts), LUCK (+22pts), HUBC (+22pts) and OGDC (+21pts). Stocks that contributed negatively include MEBL (-13pts), SNGP (-10pts), PSO (-10pts), FCCL (-8pts) and TRG (-8pts).

(AHL).