• Home
• /
• Business

KSE index up on selective support

KARACHI — Pakistani stocks closed the weekend session on a steady note on active short-covering in most of the blue chips aided by some positive news on the privatisation front and a good bit of speculative bargain-hunting.

The market's buoyant outlook is evident from the sustained increase in the KSE 100-share index, which soared by 145.88 points and breached through the barrier of 9,200 at 9,226.41 as compared to 9,080.53 a day earlier.

Heavy buying in the leading base shares, notably OGDC, PTCL, PSO, National Bank and TRG, cement and bank shares led the market advance and evoked a lot of sympathetic support on other counters having potential of capital gains.

"There is a loud whispering in the market that the SECP directive may be withdrawn after intervention from the higher quarters to ease the tense situation as brokers and members are expected to take a firm stand on the issue, which aims at taking away all the power from them", some analysts predict.

The broker optimism about the future outlook appears to be a double-edged weapon, analysts said adding "on the one hand they are defying the SECP directive to elect non-member chairmen of the bourses and trying to bail out some trapped one from the long unsold positions on the other"

The SECP denial about the withdrawal of its Tuesday's directive should have in normal conditions, prompted selling but brokers tried to ignore it as there could be many a slips between the cup and the lip at the implementation stage.

But some others fear there could be major showdown between the bourses and the SECP on the issue in the coming weeks and that could take away the current heat from the market followed by a massive price erosions.

Pakistan Refinery and Unilever Pakistan were leading among the gainers, up Rs20.75 and 20.00, while losers were led by Colgate Pakistan and Indus Dyeing, off Rs9.00 and 6.00 respectively.

Trading volume rose to 385m shares from the previous 336m shares as gainers maintained a strong lead over the losers at 215 to 110, with 31 shares holding on to the last levels.