Market watch: Activity surges to 14-week high
The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index gained 0.54 per cent or 80.47 points to end at the 15,080.55 points level. The stock market resumed after five days following public holidays for Jummatul Wida on Friday and Monday to Wednesday for Eid.
“Peaceful long holidays and increase in global equity markets took the bourse up a notch,” Topline Securities Equity Dealer Samar Iqbal.
Engro Corporation and Dawood Hercules closed at their upper limit amid news regarding their request to the government for dedicated gas fields to run their fertiliser manufacturing plant. The local conglomerate’s new plant received gas for only 33 days in the first six months of 2012.
Investors got back into action as trade volumes – a key indicator of activity – surged to 221 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 95 million shares.
The cement sector was another major performer with Lucky Cement and DG Khan Cement gaining 3.5% and 2.3%, respectively. Fauji Cement also closed the day up by 5.4% as its high leverage makes it a beneficiary of the monetary policy rate cut, according to JS Global Capital analyst Shakir Padela. The State Bank of Pakistan earlier this month on Friday cut key interest rate by 150 basis points to 10.5% from 12%.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs69 million worth of shares, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.
Shares of 333 companies were traded on Thursday. At the end of the day 186 stocks closed higher, 96 declined while 51 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs5.5 billion.
Lafarge Pakistan was the volume leader with 39.4 million shares gaining Rs0.4 to finish at Rs5.7. It was followed by Karachi Electric Supply Company with 24.1 million shares firming Rs0.9 to close at Rs6.7 and Fauji Cement with 23.0 million shares increasing Rs0.35 to close at Rs6.9.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 24th, 2012.
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