KARACHI: Benchmark KSE-100 Index closed in green at 41,546 points level with aggressive buying witnessed in construction and materials sector as investors cheered clarification from Finance Minister on PM Khan’s visit to China where he successfully secured economic package of $6 billion. KSE-100 index closed the session on a positive note after trading range bound, having climbed 585 points to close at 41,544 levels, up by 1.4 percent. The Index made an intraday high of 639 points. On the economic front, Finance Minister Asad Umar has said that talks were being held with Chinese counterparts for a relief package. He also mentioned that the crisis of the balance of payment was over now and the two sides agreed on continuing discussions in this regard. Moreover, a delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) arrived in Islamabad this morning where the delegates are into talks with the Government on the finalization of a bailout package. Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK) gaining 4.56 percent, D.G Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC) gaining 5.00 percent and Pioneer Cement Limited (PIOC) gaining 5 percent were the star performers today while Bank of Punjab (BOP) gaining 5 percent and Lotte Chemical Pakistan Limited gaining 5 percent were volume leaders with combined 56 million shares traded. Investors are expected to follow developments on financial program negotiations with IMF delegation, said Murtaza Jafar, an analyst at Elixir Research. Traded value stood at $83 million, up 14 percent, while volumes clock in at 277 million, up 20 percent. Furthermore, major contribution to total market volume came from BOP (+5.62%), LOTCHEM (+5.42%) and PAEL (+0.31%). An equity analyst Maaz Mulla expects investor’s sentiment to remain positive and recommend investors to wait for further developments on the economic front on the Pak-China event. Published in Daily Times, November 8th 2018.