Index adds 355 points at KSE

Karachi: Stock prices shot up all across the board on Thursday with the KSE-100 index displaying massive gains of 355.31 points or 1.45 per cent to settle at yet another all-time high at 24,800.69.



The rally was spear-headed by foreign investors who bought stocks worth net $10.77 million. The market capitalization of the KSE hit Rs6-trillion-mark on Thursday.



The local players bewildered by the soaring equity prices despite the huge sell-off of stocks worth $6.35 million on Wednesday, preferred to stay generally on the sidelines.

Individuals were net sellers of equity worth $9.10 million Companies bought shares in the small sum of $0.13m, while banks and mutual funds decided to take profit by offloading stocks valued at $1.52m and $0.52m, respectively.



Due to low participation by the locals, the turnover stood reduced by 6 per cent in terms of shares traded at 188 million, from 200 million shares on Wednesday. Trading value fell by 21 per cent to Rs9.506bn, from Rs12.013bn on Wednesday.

The major index movers were OGDC, which saw a sharp spurt in price by Rs8.49 to Rs280.15, contributing nearly 160 points to the index’s overall gains.



Other oil and gas shares also posted hefty gains. Attock Petroleum was up by Rs16.18 to Rs497.73, Mari Petroleum up by Rs10.25 to Rs220.43, Pakistan Oilfields higher by Rs6.66 to Rs495.24, Pakistan Petroleum up by Rs2.46 to Rs213.94 and PSO stronger by Rs2.39 to Rs322.66.



The investors’ interest was seen not only in E&P, but also in cement; textiles and consumer goods sector, where heavy gains were recorded. Even some side-board items like Service Ind, Packages, Muree Brewery, Bata and Thal caught investor interest.