KARACHI: Stocks resumed the rally on Thursday, after a breather a day earlier, which was only the second break in the month long buying spree that has seen market post gain of 6.2 per cent in January.

The KSE-100 index recovered 49.22 points on Thursday and settled at 27,064.34.

Investor participation was on the higher side as the turnover reached 400 million shares, from 383m shares traded on Wednesday.

Yet the trading value receded to Rs12.7 billion, from Rs13.6bn a day ago, evidencing greater activity in low-priced second-tier stocks.

The trading started on a firm note with the index making intra-day high at 27,204.55 points. However, profit taking mainly by ‘companies’ and ‘non-banking financial institutions’ pulled down the index.

Yet the figures released by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan in the evening showed purchases by foreign investors in the heavy sum of $7.33m, which was thought to be the big reason for the market gains.

The cement stocks led the volumes on Thursday with four of 10 volume leaders belonging to the sector. DG Khan Cement was the focus of investor attention on Thursday.

The heavyweight oil and gas sector which had taken a beating on Wednesday saw mixed trend on Thursday with POL and APL attracting investors’ attention on better interim payouts announced by their boards.

Analyst Ahmad Tariq at Next Capital thought that going forward, the result season would set the market direction with growth and payout stories playing a fundamental role in any further appreciation.

Early morning gains died down during late trading as participants looked to book profits ahead of future counters rollover on Friday and therefore pressure could be expected on the last day of trading.

Analyst Fahad Ali at JS Global stated that the market saw extended volatility where mixed sentiments were observed.