The Pakistan Stock Exchange had one of the best sessions in recent weeks as the KSE-100 gained 399.15 points and closed at 34,749.57 on Monday.

This bright start to the week was a result of the 205 companies which saw their share prices going up. Meanwhile, the share values of 106 companies were down and of 17 remained unchanged. TRG Pakistan Limited was most active stock as its 19,498,500 shares were traded.

It was followed by PRLR1 (Pak Refinery) with 18,870,000 and HASCOL (Hascol Petroleum Limited) with 13,180,000 shares. On the other hand, the top advancers in terms of percentage rise in the share price were PPVC [Pakistan PVC Limited] by 22.50 percent [Rs0.45], BIPLS [BIPL Security Limited] by 12.68 percent [Rs0.86] and QUICE [QUICE Food Industries Limited] by 12.11 percent [43 paisas].

Meanwhile, the companies performing worst with share prices down in terms of percentage were FPJM (First Punjab Modaraba) 16.59 percent [Rs0.31], FEM (First Equity Modaraba) 13.46 percent [Rs0.35] and PRLR1 (Pak Refinery) 13.41 percent [Rs0.46].

Earlier, the KSE-100 Index was up by 213.03 points on Friday as the share prices of 166 companies made gains and of 102 declined during Friday's session which did not see any major fluctuations.

A total of 53,698,321 shares were traded during the session which saw the KSE-100 Index closing at 34,350.42. A cursory look at the market's performance during the current year shows that the KSE-100 Index had closed the year 2019 on December 31 at 40,735.08.

By Jan 10, it reached the level of 43,207.05 but then started plummeting as slid to 27,228.80 on March 25, which represented a loss of 13,506.28 points within two-and-a-half months. But since, the market has made some recovery but not without some serious hiccups as the index currently stands at 34,350.42.

However, full recovery isn't in sight with very little economic activity, weak rupee, high inflation and reduced purchasing power of consumers. Earlier this week, the State Bank of Pakistan in a report had warned about further devaluation of rupee, reduced growth and more joblessness amid the current situation.

© Pakistan Press International, source Asianet-Pakistan