KARACHI: Stocks continued to rally for the second consecutive session as the indices marched north throughout Friday, turning a blind eye to the ongoing political events.
Foreign investors offloaded shares worth $2.05 million on Thursday; equity of $12.93 million was sold in September 2019. Major selling was observed in the banking and oil and gas exploration sectors ($13.54 million and $4.90 million respectively) during the month.
On the economic front, the total liquid foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank declined by $97 million to $15,090 million. Previously, the reserves stood at $15,187 million.
Moreover, the government increased petrol prices by Re1 per litre for the month of November amid fluctuation in global crude oil.
Gaining 285.83 points, the KSE-100 Index recorded its intraday high of 34,489.51 in the second half of the session. It ended higher by 173.93 points at 34,377.61. The KMI-30 Index accumulated 238.96 points to close at 56,081.13, while the KSE All Share Index inched up 30.92 points, settling at 24,792.70.
Sectors that added positivity to the index included cement (+66.59 points), banking (+63.44 points) and power generation and distribution (+41.42 points). Among the companies, Hub Power Company Limited (HUBC +39.26 points), Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK +31.02) and Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MARI +22.12) turned out to be the top contributors to the index.
The overall trading volumes declined from the previous session and were recorded at 157.04 million. Cement giants, Fauji Cement Company Limited (FCCL +1.29pc) and Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF +6.17pc), held the first two spots on the volume chart with 12.86 million shares and 10.79 million shares exchanging hands respectively. Siddiqsons Tin Plate Limited (STPL +0.96pc) was third on the list with 9.05 million traded shares.
