Stocks continue record-breaking streak
KARACHI: Stocks continued their ascent on Friday, with the KSE-100 index rising by 325 points (or 0.63 per cent) to close at a new all-time high of 51,751.
Investors continued to take fresh positions despite the weekend ahead as the MSCI upgrade euphoria refused to subside.
The volume of shares traded on Friday fell 13pc to 347 million shares. Summit Bank was the volume leader, followed by K-Electric and Byco Petroleum which together accounted for 76m shares in aggregate volume.
Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said the stocks closed higher led by blue-chip oil, banking and fertiliser stocks as investors speculated in the pre-budget rally at Pakistan Stock Exchange. Higher global crude prices, upbeat data on car sales for July-April and speculations ahead of MSCI emerging-market inclusions played a catalyst role in the record close, he said.
Major gainers on Friday were Engro Pakistan which rose 1.8pc, MCB Bank 1.97pc, Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC) 1.42pc, Pakistan State Oil 2.46pc and Hub Power Company 1.33pc, and cumulatively contributed 128 points to the index.