At close, the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-share index increased 0.60% or 183.70 points to end at 31,011.15.
“Morning trade remained thin with low volumes as most institutions preferred to stick to the sidelines owing to recent sell off by foreigners,” said Sibtain Mustafa of Elixir Securities.
“Second session started off on a stronger note with cements gaining attraction after government officially announced reduction in electricity tariff and also rumours of a leading cement player not going ahead with expansion in the southern region.
“Most cement stocks gained as day jobbers played along the momentum with Cherat Cement (CHCC PA +2.23%) and Pioneer Cement (PIOC PA +4.48%) gaining the most.
“News flow over the weekend will dominate sentiment as any strong measures by the government against militancy will bode well for the equity market. With the year-end approaching and roll over future, we expect market volumes to remain dull,” he added.
Meanwhile, JS Global analyst Ovais Ahsan said expectations that the government will further reduce local retail oil prices also kept participants bullish with the outlook for inflation looking tame, raising prospects of further interest rate cuts.
“K-Electric (+1%) continued to outperform on news that a South Korean company could consider buying the utility.
“UBL Bank (+0.7%) rallied as our research reinitiated coverage with a buy recommendation and a target price of Rs212.
“Pak Suzuki (+5%) hit its upper limit on prospects that the orders for the taxi scheme will stay intact in the wake of the political turmoil seemingly heading towards a resolution,” Ahsan concluded.
Trade volumes declined to 141 million shares compared to 195 million on Thursday.
Shares of 364 companies were traded on Friday. Of these, 173 companies declined, 172 closed higher and 19 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs8.9 billion.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 15.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.14 to close at Rs1.78. It was followed by the Maple Leaf Cement with 8.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.35 to close at Rs41.83 and Cherat Cement with 6.1 million shares, gaining Rs1.49 to close at Rs68.34.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs15 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 20th, 2014.
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