After wild ride, KSE-100 manages a positive finish

Investors ducked for cover after Panama verdict, index had plunged close to 3.6%

KARACHI: Expectation that Friday would see a wild ride for the stock market was met as the KSE-100 Index staged a remarkable recovery to end marginally positive, a remote possibility after Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan’s prime minister until a few hours ago, was disqualified from holding public office by the Supreme Court.

At the end of the day, the KSE-100 Index – a benchmark for market performance – ended only 0.01% higher. But it doesn’t even begin to tell the story.

The verdict of disqualification was followed by a massive plunge in the afternoon session. The KSE-100 Index fell close to 3.6% or 1,670 points as investors ducked for cover.



However, share prices took a complete u-turn as the market absorbed news and reacted positively to Nawaz’s resignation from office, suggesting that PML-N had now made its back-up plan. Some sort of political clarity and attractive valuations were enough for stock market investors who helped the KSE-100 Index erase all its losses before the session closed for the week.

The KSE-100 Index, which had fallen close to 2.5% soon after the opening bell as well, ended 6.27 points or 0.01% higher.

Volumes on the all-share index were understandably higher, shooting up to 326 million shares changing hands. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs21.1 billion. Azgard Nine was the volume leader with 24.7 million shares, followed by Engro Polymer (19.7 million) and TRG (18.5 million).