Daily Times

The KSE-100 index rose 0.87 percent on Thursday, extending the previous session’s gains on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). This was in response to official claims that the $4b financial gap identified by the International Monetary Fund has been bridged (IMF).

Thursday’s KSE-100 index closed at 41,425.37 points, up 356.5 points or 0.87 percent from the previous day’s closing price. The IMF’s next tranche would be easier to obtain if friendly governments agreed to contribute $4b. The rupee’s advance against the US dollar prompted traders to take up new positions, which helped lift the stock market as well. A good start to the day saw the market exceed the 41,500-point mark three times, but selling pressure began to build around lunchtime, reversing some of those early gains. Late in the day, the market continued to fluctuate and ended up in the green. Gains were recorded in the index-heavy automobile and cement industries. Positive momentum held over from the previous session, according to Capital Stake, as PSX concluded the day in green. There were increases all day long, but volume dropped from the previous day’s closing, it stated. As a result, the KSE-100 index rose by 129.47 points, cement (75.73 points), and fertiliser (75.73 points) (25.72 points). Traders on the all-share index saw their volume fall from 333.03m on Wednesday to 275.4m on Thursday. As a result, the value of shares exchanged fell to Rs7.9b, from Rs10.02b the day before. There were 44m shares in WorldCall Telecom, followed by TPL Properties with 12.2m and Pak Elektron with 12m shares.