Market watch: KSE-100 extends rally ahead of FATF meeting

Benchmark index rises 447.99 to settle at 34,475.69

KARACHI: The stock market extended its rally and gained 448 points on Friday as investors expected a positive outcome from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meeting to be held next week.

Moreover, many companies are expected to announce financial results in the forthcoming week, which further strengthened investor sentiment.

A rise in global crude oil prices in the wake of attack on an Iranian oil tanker gave a boost to stocks of exploration and production companies and the entire sector posted handsome gains.

Earlier, trading kicked off on a positive note and the benchmark index spiked in initial hours. The bourse rose steadily in the first session and posted a rise of 423 points. The second session extended the market's advance, however, selling pressure towards the end eroded some of the gains.

At close, the benchmark KSE 100-share index recorded an increase of 447.99 points, or 1.32%, to settle at 34,475.69 points.

Arif Habib Limited stated in its report that the market continued to be on the uptrend on expectation of a positive outcome from the FATF meeting in the coming week.

"The middle of the month is going to see several companies announcing financial results, which also guided the market largely in positive direction," it added.

The news of Iranian oil tanker explosion sent international crude oil prices soaring, which left a positive impact on stocks of the exploration and production sector. The refinery sector lagged behind due to concern over the upcoming quarterly results.

Traded value for the day hit the highest level in rupee terms for 2019. The technology sector led the volumes table with trading in 56.4 million shares, followed by cement companies (35 million) and chemical firms (31.9 million).

Among individual stocks, WorldCall Telecom came on top with trading in 30.8 million shares, followed by Lotte Chemical (19.1 million) and TRG Pakistan (18.8 million), the report stated.

Overall, trading volumes increased to 287.1 million shares compared with Thursday's tally of 261.6 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs10.6 billion.

Shares of 403 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 238 stocks closed higher, 149 declined and 16 remained unchanged.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 30.8 million shares, standing unchanged at Rs1.11. It was followed by Lotte Chemical with 19.1 million shares, gaining Rs0.06 to close at Rs16.07 and TRG Pakistan with 18.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.71 to close at Rs16.79.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs91.6 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.