KSE index gains 68.94 points

KARACHI (January 10 2009): Karachi share market started in the positive zone and the KSE-100 index hit 6,243.29 points intra-day high level, up by 168.42 points on Friday. However, profit taking in the late hours reduced the intra-day gains and the KSE-100 index finally closed at 6,143.81 points level, with a net gain of 68.94 points.

Trading volume at the ready market was also reduced to 145.449 million shares as compared to 165.193 million shares traded in the previous session. The overall market capitalisation increased by Rs 15 billion to Rs 1,936 trillion. Trading took place in 262 scrips, out of which 171 scrips closed in the negative and 88 in the positive while the value of three stocks remained unchanged.

The E&P giant, OGDC was the overall market volume leader of the day with 11.342 million shares and gained Rs 2.29 to close at Rs 54.02. PTCL lost Re. 0.16 to close at Rs 16.45 with 10.091 million shares. TRG Pakistan declined by Re. 0.31 to close at Rs 2.68 with 7.486 million shares.

Hub Power gained Re. 0.54 to close at Rs 17.88 with 7.428 million shares. WorldCall Telecom lost Re. 0.85 to close at Rs 4.26 with 6.592 million shares. NIB Bank declined by Re. 0.43 to close at Rs 5.92 with 6.436 million shares.

DG Khan Cement lost Rs 1.12 to close at Rs 21.33 with 4.069 million shares. Zeal Pak declined by Re. 0.14 to close at Re. 0.66 with 3.565 million shares. Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim gained Re. 0.63 to close at Rs 16.32 with 3.513 million shares. Arif Habib Bank lost Re. 0.88 to close at Rs 6.85 with 3.473 million shares.

Attock Petroleum and Millat Tractors were the highest gainers and gained Rs 7.93 and Rs 7.92 to close at Rs 166.66 and Rs 166.51 respectively while Siemens Pak and Pak Services Limited were the worst losers and lost Rs 48.00 and Rs 17.53 to close at Rs 922.00 and Rs 333.22 respectively.

Ahsan Mehanti at Shehzad Chamdia Securities said that the buying activity was witnessed as positive sentiment prevailed at KSE due to injection of funds led by Fund Manager NIT and the government institutions. Positive activity with continued as distress selling by banks /brokers and retail investors/institutional funds entered the market in the result announcement sessions, he added.