KSE surges as volumes jump to four-month high
The benchmark 100-share index at the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) climbed 1.62 per cent, or 162.32 points, to close at 10,191.68 points – safely above the 10,000 psychological level.
“Local participants turned bullish after the European Union suspended import duties on Pakistan’s textiles,” commented Murtaza Jafar from JS Global Capital. Rumours regarding margin trading system being implemented without further amendments and exemptions from the capital gains tax also added flavour to the day’s activity, as highlighted by Hasnain Asghar Ali, Sales and Research Head at Aziz Fidahusein and Company.
Hearsay also overtook the cement sector where a rumoured increase of Rs25 per cement bag in the northern areas led DG Khan Cement to shine, according to Jafar.
More than 148 million shares were traded on Thursday marking a four-month high. It should be noted that the average daily turnover at the KSE for the first quarter of the current financial year has remained significantly below 100 million shares.
Shares of 394 companies were traded during the day. At the end of the day, 244 stocks closed higher, 125 declined and 25 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs4.2 billion.
JS and Company led volumes with a turnover of 9.52 million shares. The scrip closed at Rs9.16 after a gain of Rs0.03 per share.
NIB Bank followed with a trade volume of 9.26 million shares. The bank’s stock added an impressive 18 per cent to close at Rs3.04 per share. “FIIs (foreign institutional investors) were rumoured buyers of banking scrips,” said one analyst.
Bank Alfalah came in third with a little more than nine million shares traded during the day.
Published in The Express Tribune ,October 8th, 2010.
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