“Intraday swings kept day traders busy while institutions were mostly cautious and selective ahead of the November inflation reading that will likely be announced on Monday,” said Faisal Bilwani of Elixir Securities. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index rose 0.45% or 108.83 points to end at 24,289.32 points.
“Intraday swings kept day traders busy while institutions were mostly cautious and selective ahead of the November inflation reading that will likely be announced on Monday,” said Faisal Bilwani of Elixir Securities.
“Anxious investors expect a double-digit Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation that may bring short-lived negativity in the broader market, however, it will bode well for financials,” he said.
“Small and mid-cap cement companies led the volumes with the sector inching up with the exception of Fauji Cement (-1%) that closed in the red, while sentiment driver Engro Corporation (+1.9%) gained on local interest,” added Bilwani.
Wasi M Khan of JS Global Securities said the prime minister’s package to revive the economy through incentives and amnesty for various industries created confidence among the participants.
“The announcement followed the smooth transition of power in the two pillars of the state – the army and the judiciary,” he said. “The cement and textile sectors saw decent interest as participants awaited strong corporate results as well as qualification for the GSP Plus status for the latter.”
Apart from these, Pakistan State Oil gained on the back of news, indicating that petroleum prices would not be curtailed in December.
Trade volumes fell to 144 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 153 million.
Shares of 348 companies were traded on Friday. At the end of the day, 175 stocks closed higher, 147 declined and 26 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs8.1 billion.
Fauji Cement was the volume leader with 15.8 million shares, losing Rs0.14 to finish at Rs13.32. It was followed by DG Khan Cement with 7.9 million shares, losing Rs0.63 to close at Rs77.92 and Maple Leaf Cement with 7.3 million shares, gaining Rs0.43 to close at Rs25.54.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs234 million worth of shares during the session, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 30th, 2013.
Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ