The stock market remained positive on the first trading session of the week on Monday amid better volumes.
The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) 100-share index gained 0.44 per cent or 53 points to end at 11,933 points.
Concerns related to Osama’s death had started to fade away which revived investor confidence at the stock market, said JS Global Capital analyst Ahmed Rauf.
Volumes firmed to 79 million shares compared with Friday’s tally of 64 million shares and average daily volumes for last week at 68 million shares.
Engro Corporation closed 2.3 per cent higher after the Economic Coordination Committee’s decision to allocate an additional 40 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas to fertiliser companies from the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines network.
Lucky Cement closed in the green but failed to generate much excitement despite news of improved export prospects for the company and its plans to expand capacity by setting up a new plant by the end of the current fiscal in June.
Outcome of the International Monetary Fund’s talks beginning in Dubai this week to review new financial year’s budget and economic policies can be cited as a near-term trigger. Moreover, with the budget just a few weeks away, a largely range-bound activity was expected barring any news, said an analyst.
Shares of 355 companies were traded on Monday. At the end of the day, 143 stocks closed higher, 124 declined and 88 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs2.82 billion.
Lotte Pakistan PTA was the volume leader with 8.18 million shares, losing Rs0.03 to finish at Rs15.62. It was followed by Azgard Nine with 8.09 million shares, gaining Rs0.42 to close at Rs5.99 and Jahangir Siddiqui and Company with 7.56 million shares, firming Rs0.63 to close at Rs6.75.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 10th, 2011.
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