KARACHI – The benchmark KSE-100 index appreciated by 39.88 points or 0.12 percent to reach 34426.74 points and volume of 70,641,280 shares till mid day trade on Thursday.
The High and Low were 34502.27 and 34368.25 respectively. The other day, the index remained in green zone over corporate earnings’ announcements while cement and oil sectors led the rally. An expert said, “Pakistan equities edged higher closing above 34,500 levels as cement and oil plays led the rally however late profit taking minimised gained for oil stocks”. He expected that market would remain volatile as the earnings season kicks off. Any recovery in international crude will shift interest to oil plays from cements and financial plays, he added. With the result season kicking in at full stream, local bourse was abuzz with excitement.
For the month of December 2014, a total of 110 stocks, including preferential stocks and futures, out of a total of 557 listed companies recorded zero turnover despite an overall increase of three percent in the KSE 100-Index during the month. Textile is the largest export sector of the country but its weight in the stock exchange remains behind other sectors, like oil and gas, banking, chemicals and cement.