Market watch: Stock market firms to five-and-a-half-month high

Benchmark 100-share index gains 16 points.

KARACHI:

The stock market firmed to close at a five-and-a-half-month high on Tuesday amid better volumes.

The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index firmed 0.13 per cent or 16.2 points to end at 12,576.48 point level.

The index wandered along the neutral line despite National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and Pakistan Oilfields directing the index to trade above 12,600 levels in early trade, said Elixir Securities equity dealer Sibtain Mustafa. However, late selling in the afternoon session kept index to trade in a thin range, added Mustafa.

Pakistan Oilfields led the oil sector rally by jumping 2.7 per cent over expectations of better full year earnings and cash payout. Pakistan Petroleum and Oil and Gas Development Company were managed to gain 1 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively.

Trade volumes gained to 71 million shares compared with Monday’s tally of 57 million shares.

Banks remained slightly subdued in contrast to yesterday’s performance but NBP did manage to gain 1.3 per cent over market rumours of foreign buying while MCB Bank edged up 1 per cent as strong spreads and double digit growth in deposits will improve sector earnings.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers Rs249 million, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.

Shares of 345 companies were traded on Tuesday. At the end of the day 143 stocks closed higher, 96 declined while 106 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs3.38 billion.

Hub Power Company was also among the highly traded stocks, and gained 1.2 per cent over expectations of better full year earnings and cash payout.

Bank of Punjab was the volume leader with 10.5 million shares gaining Rs0.49 to finish at Rs6.82. It was followed by Fatima Fertiliser Company with 10.03 million shares declining Rs0.15 to close at Rs16.04 and National Bank of Pakistan with 4.36 million shares firming Rs0.69 to close at Rs54.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 6^th, 2011.