Bullish run continues on foreign buying

Stocks continue bullish run to close at two-and-a-half-month highs despite profit-taking by local investors.

KARACHI: Stocks continued the bullish run to close at two-and-a-half-month highs on the back of foreign buying despite profit-taking by local investors.

The Karachi Stock Exchange’s benchmark 100-share index ended 0.18 per cent or 19.05 points higher at 10,409.02.

“Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDCL), the index heavyweight, supported the market to push it above 10,400 points,” said Topline Securities equity dealer Samar Iqbal.

OGDCL - the heaviest weighted company - rose 0.33 per cent to close at Rs150 following an increase in global oil prices.

Oil prices rose towards a five-month high above $84 per barrel on Thursday in a broad-based rally of commodities amid a slump in dollar.

Locals are betting on the stock market to shine as healthy foreign flows are directed to the region along with commencement of quarterly earnings season and Friends of Democratic Pakistan meeting in Brussels on Thursday, said an analyst.

Trade volumes rose to 115.33 million shares compared with Wednesday’s tally of 81.34 million shares.

Towards the end of the trading session the market witnessed profit-taking with most blue chips closing in the red, the analyst said.

Institutional investors were net sellers in the market after Wednesday’s Pakistan Investment Bond (PIB) auction as the yield on the 10-year PIB inched up 1.42 percentage points, the analyst added.

A 30 per cent cut in Public Sector Development Programme budget for the current fiscal year proved to be a sentiment dampener for the cement sector.

Shares of 401 companies were traded on Thursday. At the end of the day, 217 stocks closed higher, 158 declined and 26 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs3.89 billion.

Lotte Pakistan PTA was the volume leader with 19.4 million shares gaining Rs0.46 to finish at Rs9.34. It was followed by Nishat Power Limited with 6.75 million shares increasing Rs0.48 to close at Rs13.32 and Jahangir Siddiqui and Company with 6.19 million shares firming Rs0.01 to close at Rs9.58.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 15^th, 2010.