Bullish activity was witnessed in the final trading session of the week, driven by the oil sector following a rise in international oil prices.
The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index rose 0.48 per cent or 57.02 points to end at the 11905.86-point level.
Rumours of improved oil and gas production from one of the key fields raised investor interest, causing the sector to perform well, with Pakistan Oilfields Ltd jumping 2.5 per cent and Pakistan Petroleum Ltd gaining two per cent. National Refinery Ltd also remained highly sought after, gaining 1.2 per cent over expectations of bumper earnings in the quarter, said JSGlobal Capital analyst Jawad Khan
Arif Habib Investments Ltd Director Ahsan Mehanti said the oil sector owed its impressive performance to rising international prices. US Brent Crude Oil crossed $122 per barrel on Friday amid political turmoil in the Middle East.
Institutional and foreign interest continued ahead of quarter-end earning announcements, particularly in the fertiliser, banks, and cements sectors, after Pakistan agreed to cooperate with US in its fight against militancy, despite concerns of rising fiscal deficit and inflation in the country.
Trade volumes rose to 68.1 million shares, up from Thursday’s tally of 54.6 million shares.
Shares of 373 companies were traded on Friday. At the end of the day, 154 stocks closed higher, 114 declined, while 105 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs4 billion.
Bank Al Habib was the volume leader with 5.57 million shares, gaining Rs0.8 to finish at Rs30.49. It was followed by Pak Oilfields Ltd with 4.75 million shares gaining Rs8.07 to close at Rs330.62, and Lotte Pakistan PTA with 4.48 million shares, gaining Rs0.1 to close at Rs15.84.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 9th, 2011.
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