KARACHI: Following the Panama case verdict, the Pakistan Stock Exchange closed on positive note as the benchmark KSE-100 index gained 1,140 points, or 2.39 per cent, to take the tally to 48,743.56 level.
Stock market participants came out of their shell to buy in droves as the KSE-100 Index rose over 1,900 point in intra-day trading, translating to an increase of close to 4%, coinciding with the verdict of the Panama case.
The formation of a joint investigation team into the Panama case that would further probe allegations of money-laundering against the First Family was seen as a positive by investors. The KSE-100 hit a high of 49,509 but lost some of its gain to fall below the 49,000 level.
The stocks recorded the highest trading level of 49509.30 points and lowest level of 47361.11 points, with the volume of over 408.16 million shares and value of Rs25.73 billion. As many as 383 companies were active; of which 300 advanced, 71 declined and 12 remained unchanged.
K-Electric was the volume leader with 29.22 million shares, shedding Rs 0.06 to finish at Rs 8.18. It was followed by Engro Polymer with 27.63 million shares, adding Rs 0.51 to end at Rs 26.18 and TRG Pak Ltd with 20.96 million shares, gaining Rs 2.33 to close at Rs 52.83.
The top three gainers were Sanofi-Aventis with price per share of 1992 (94), Sapphire Fiber with price per share of 1147.12 (54.62) and Nestle Pakistan share of 9451 (51).
The top three losers were Rafhan Maize with price per share of 7125 (-75), Unilever Foods with price per share of 6201 (-49) and Otsuka Pak per share of 219.75 (-9.38).
Earlier, the stocks opened negative ahead of Panamagate verdict as benchmark 100-index shed 188 points to reach 47415 points level in early trading. The PSX gained 329 points to reach 47932 points till midday.
On Wednesday, the PSX witnessed the largest-ever intraday point swing and closed at 47,603.48 level, by rallying 729 points or (up 1.56%). Market participants came out guns blazing to ride the volatility as traded value and volume skyrocketed 62% d/d to 266 million shares and Rs15.3 billion.
