Business

Market watch: Bourse closes at record high before Election Day

Foreign inflows continue to spur buying activity.

Our Correspondent May 10, 2013

Shares of 381 companies were traded on the last trading session before the elections. PHOTO:FILE

KARACHI: The stock market continued to heat up, taking the index to extraordinary highs just one day before the people of Pakistan chose their next government for the following five years. With continued inflows of foreign funds, the index rocketed to an unprecedented high, closing above the 19,900 points barrier for the first time in its history.

The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index surged 1.30% or 254.81 points to end at the 19,916.27 points level. Trade volumes fell to 218 million shares, compared with Thursday’s tally of 234 million shares. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs7.13 billion.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs399.43 million worth of securities, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.

“Continuous foreign buying in large cap stocks helped the index gain value by more than 1%,” reported Topline Securities’ Senior Manager Equity Sales Samar Iqbal. “The telecom sector also remained in the limelight and performed well after it received a stay order from [the Sindh High] Court,” she added. “Index heavyweight MCB Bank closed at its upper limit, [while] PSO also attracted investors’ interest and rallied as investors hoped the new government will address the circular debt issue.”

Shares of 381 companies were traded on the last trading session before the elections. At the end of the day, 202 stocks closed higher, 118 declined while 61 remained unchanged.

“Momentum from the last few days did not break, as excitement over the elections continues to fuel optimism, with index heavy names leading the charge,” commented analyst Faisal Bilwani, who is associated with Elixir Securities.

“Blue chip oil names were not at all a disappointment, with the Oil and Gas Development Company (up 1.2%) and Pakistan Oilfields (up 1.5%) also attracting attention.”

Fauji Cement was the volume leader with 24.62 million shares, gaining Rs0.25 to finish at Rs10.18. It was followed by Pakistan Telecommunication Company with 16.61 million shares, gaining Rs0.83 to close at Rs19.02; and Japan Power with 12.37 million shares, gaining Rs0.42 to close at Rs2.11.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2013.

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