KARACHI: Stocks ex­­tended the rally on Thursday with the KSE-100 index up by 584 points (1.53 per cent) to close at eight-month high 38,706.

Expectation of resolution of the controversy surrounding the extension granted to army chief triggered buying right from the start and the index rallied to intraday high by 724 points.

Risk-averse investors booked profit ahead of the weekend which saw the index retreat by 100-plus points before close of the session. Some seasoned market players said the continuation of service for an interim period of six months was a good sign as the general had played a role in facilitating the government to achieve its economic goals with an eye on the boarder and geopolitical situation.

The news flow over the developments in the COAS tenure extension case hearing captured investors’ interest, who put aside all other political and economic issues. Foreign selling was limited to $0.83 million while mutual funds were the leading buyers of $5.65m.

The volume surged 52pc to 348.2m shares, from 228.4m while traded value increased by the same to reach $78.1m, as against $ 51.5m.

Stocks that saw the highest volume of trade for third day in a row was Unity Foods with 20m shares changing hands. Other leaders were Pak Elektron, TRG Pakistan, BankIslami and Fauji Foods.

Sector-wise, cement, banks and exploration and production were the lead gainers. Automobile has generally been rallying on the back of upcoming Industrial Development Policy. In pharmaceuticals, Ferozsons, Abbott and Glaxo were seen hitting upper circuits.

Among scrips, major contribution to index upside came from Hub Power, higher by 3.65pc, Pakistan State Oil 3.80pc, MCB 1.65pc, Lucky Cement 2.52pc, National Bank 4.96pc, United Bank 1.26pc, Fauji Fertiliser 1.15pc, Millat Tractors 5pc, Pakistan Oilfields 1.39pc and Engro Corporation 0.57pc.

Published in Dawn, November 29th, 2019