KARACHI: The stock market continued bearish activity on the final trading session of the week with the Raymond Davis case still hanging in the balance.
The Karachi Stock Exchange benchmark 100-share index ended 0.17 per cent or 20.62 points lower at 12,041.15.
Tensions escalated between Pakistan and the US over the fate of US national Raymond Davis, who killed two men in Lahore on January 27 and was in custody of police.
The number of shares traded rose to 70.36 million from a four-month low of 60.38 million on Thursday. Nishat Mills’ first-half results enticed investors to accumulate the stock at lower levels, said Topline Securities equity dealer Samar Iqbal. The scrip, top on the volume chart, jumped 2.5 per cent to close at Rs62.84.Engro also crossed the Rs220 mark with a high of Rs221.45, while Dawood Hercules opened at its upper limit after the announcement of 300 per cent bonus a day earlier.
Shares of 654 companies were traded on Friday. At the end of the day, 105 stocks closed higher, 157 declined and 392 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs3.2 billion.
Nishat Mills led the volume chart with 9.52 million shares, gaining Rs1.51 to close at Rs62.84. It was followed by Lotte Pakistan PTA, with 8.54 million shares, losing Rs0.11 to close at Rs15.99 and DG Khan Cement, with 4.9 million shares, plummeting Rs1.25 to close at Rs24.42. DG Khan Cement continued to witness selling pressure since its right share announcement a day earlier, as the stock closed at its five per cent lower limit for the second consecutive day.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 19th, 2011.
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