KARACHI:
The stock market continued its upward trend for the fifth straight day on Thursday amid investor interest staying upbeat before the budget.
The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index rose 0.25 per cent or 30 points to end at 12,198.12 point level.
Investors’ expectation that the upcoming budget may bring good news for the market and key sectors resulted in the bourse climbing, said Topline Securities equity dealer Samar Iqbal.
The government is expected announce the annual budget in the first week of June.
The refinery sector was up by five per cent after market rumours that deemed duty is going to remain unchanged at 7.5 per cent against market expectation of a reduction in duty in the upcoming budget. National Refinery and Attock Refinery rose to their upper trading limits as buying was also supported by news of refining margins improving 34 per cent in the fourth quarter.
Trade volumes eased to 102 million shares compared with Wednesday’s tally of 104 million shares.
Foreigners were rumoured sellers in fertilisers while state owned funds and locals were sellers in energy and fertiliser scripts, according to JS Global Capital analyst Murtaza Jafar.
Foreign portfolio investments registered a net outflow of Rs74 million ($860,000) on Thursday, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.
Shares of 353 companies were traded during the session. At the end of the day 184 stocks closed higher, 90 declined while 79 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs4.15 billion.
Bank of Punjab was the volume leader with 10.43 million shares on reports that the bank will issue its financial results after a three-year gap. The scrip gained Rs0.45 to close at Rs6.6.
It was followed by Jahangir Siddiqui and Company with 7.03 million shares on rumours that the group’s legal issues have ended in JS group’s favour. The consortium’s stock gained Rs0.03 to close at Rs8.15
Byco Petroleum came in third with 4.76 million shares gaining Rs0.27 to close at Rs9.47.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 27th, 2011.
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