KARACHI, Oct 6: The CFS investment on the Karachi Stock Exchange last week recorded a fresh increase of eight per cent as demand for funds showed a substantial rise in a bull market.

After having ruled sharply lower below the figure of Rs50bn for the last couple of weeks, the total investment rose to Rs54.5bn, analyst Khurram Schehzad said.

“In the backdrop of presidential election the CFS investment could hit the ceiling of Rs55bn if the current buying euphoria on the stock market is sustained despite the apex court’s ruling on official notification of presidential election results,” he believes.

Bulk of the CFS funding about 48pc went to the credit of five top companies, National Bank, Pakistan Petroleum, Pakistan Oilfields and Engro Chemical, he added.

The CFS rates also showed a modest rise of 14 basis points at 11.26 per cent from the previous 11.12 per cent but they were contained below 12pc despite higher borrowing.But on the other hand open interest on the October futures counter posted a fall of 11pc at Rs9.6 billion as compared to previous week’s Rs10.8bn, while future spreads stayed around 4.01pc.