KARACHI: The first day of the week was marked by choppy trades and low investor participation, although the KSE-100 index settled above the 43,000-point level to an all-time high of 43,060.71 points due to gains of 61.05 points (0.14 per cent).

Developments over the weekend regarding the State Bank keeping the policy rate unchanged and the nomination of a new army chief kept the investors’ interest alive and saw a positive index opening.

Overall volumes increased 8.3pc over Friday to 460 million shares, but a bulk of them was in the second- and third-tier stocks represented by the decrease in the trading value by 9.5pc to Rs13.3 billion.

The reduction in gas prices for industrial and fertiliser sectors also fuelled buying in fertiliser stocks. Engro Corporation and Dawood Hercules posted gains of 2.2pc and 1.6pc, respectively, adding 46 points to the index’s gain.

Cements, fertilisers, textiles, glass and other allied industries also managed intraday gains, buoyed by the reduced gas price issue. Meanwhile, Sui Southern Gas Company continued its decline in the second consecutive trading session and closed at its lower price limit following the announcement last week that petitions filed by the company had been dismissed by the Sindh High Court. Sui Northern Gas Pipelines also hit its lower limit.

Most stocks in the E&P sector closed in the red due to a decline in international oil prices and uncertainty over the latest Opec decision.

It forced weak holders to reduce their positions. OGDC (-1.16pc), POL (-1.50pc), PPL (-1.59pc) and MARI (-1.78pc) closed in the red. Mixed sentiments were witnessed in the cement sector where top gainers were Bestway Cement (2.99pc) and DG Khan Cement (1.33).

Published in Dawn November 29th, 2016