Market watch: Led by oil firms, stocks move northwards

Benchmark KSE-100 index rises 125.88 points.

KARACHI: The stock market, which had started rising after a tumultuous one and a half week, continued to march upwards on Thursday, driven by the oil sector.

The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-share index closed with a rise of 0.38% or 125.88 points to end at 33,368.83.

Elixir Securities analyst Faisal Bilwani said that equities closed positive, though trading was thin, as investors, primarily local institutions, awaited clarity on foreign fund flows before taking fresh positions.



“Stocks traded lacklustre, however, buying in select oil and fertiliser names kept interest in the wider market alive,” Bilwani said.

“Fauji Fertiliser (+1.8%) attracted dividend seekers while Pakistan State Oil (+2.5%) gained on noticeable improvement in sales during February.”

Engro Corporation (+1%) rose in late trading on local buying on rumours of progress in the secondary offering of its listed fertiliser business – Engro Fertilisers.

JS Global analyst Muhammad Mobeen said that the Fatima Group of Companies touched its upper circuit.

“Ferozsons Laboratories (-3.5%) remained under pressure following the announcement of a cut in Hepatitis C drug Sovaldi prices,” said Mobeen.

Trade volumes dropped to 176 million shares compared to 180 million on Wednesday.

Shares of 361 companies were traded. Of these, 150 declined, 193 closed higher and 18 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs9 billion.



K-Electric Limited was the volume leader with 21.3 million shares, gaining Rs0.07 to close at Rs8.00. It was followed by Jahangir Siddiqui and Company with 15.1 million shares, losing Rs1.00 to close at Rs18.99 and Pak Elektron with 14 million shares, losing Rs0.03 to close at Rs55.08.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs287 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.

Published in The Express Tribune, March  6^th,  2015.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.