ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s main stock market ended slightly higher on Thursday, though investors moved with caution as a result of the long-running political uncertainty in the country, dealers said.

The Karachi Stock Exchange’s benchmark 100-share index gained 21.28 points, or 0.15 per cent, to close at 14,401.74 on volume of 83.2 million shares.

“The market initially rallied, but uncertainty on the political front forced investors to trim their gains,” said Samar Iqbal, a dealer at Topline Securities.

The index hit a high of 14,500.6 points during Thursday’s session.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday ordered Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf to re-open corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, another twist in the long-running showdown between the court and the government.

The previous prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, was disqualified by the Supreme Court last month after he was convicted of contempt for failing to re-open the cases.

In the currency market, the rupee closed at almost flat 94.33/38 to the dollar, compared with 94.33/39 on Wednesday.

Overnight rates in the money market remained unchanged at 11.90 per cent.