Market Watch: Index continues to climb, crosses 12,000 points

Oil sector in the limelight on back of earnings announcements.

KARACHI:

Stocks rallied for rich gains in the last trading session of the week on Friday as the bourse crossed the 12,000-point barrier.

The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) 100-share index gained 0.76 per cent or 90.87 points to end at 12,057.54 points.

Although support was broad-based, the oil sector proved pivotal in the overall performance. The Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) made a strong push in the morning but stood steady in the afternoon session.

The recent round of earnings provided support for the rise, as investors betted on earnings growth and pushed for revaluation of stock prices. Attock Petroleum followed, rising to new highs, as the company is set to post higher inventory gains due to a rise in international oil prices, said Elixir Securities analyst Sibtain Mustafa.

Trade volumes were nearly flat at 109.52 million shares, compared with Thursday’s tally of 113.5 million shares.

With the index closing at recent highs, analysts expect broader activity to pick up, particularly in banking stocks, given the growth witnessed in the first quarter results. Additionally, the market will prepare itself for changes on the political front, as new coalition partners will provide the government much-needed support to push through tough economic decisions.

Shares of 356 companies were traded on Friday. At the end of the day, 173 stocks closed higher, 156 declined and 27 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs5.3 billion.

Silkbank was the volume leader with 8.73 million shares, losing Rs0.2 to close at Rs2.65. It was followed by Lotte Pakistan PTA with 8.53 million shares, losing Rs0.17 to close at Rs16.72 and Azgard Nine with 7.12 million shares, losing Rs0.93 to close at Rs5.34.



Published in The Express Tribune, April 30^th, 2011.