KARACHI: Trading on the stock exchange stayed range-bound on Monday even though the Financial Action Task Force announced that it took Pakistan off its grey list.

Arif Habib Ltd said the stock market was unable to capitalise on the positive trigger because of the political upheaval, which kept investors at bay.

The mainboard shares attracted reasonable volumes but the top volume leaders were mostly third-tier stocks.

The local currency appreciated 0.2 per cent to 220.41 against the dollar in the interbank market.

JS Global said investors should stay cautious at current levels and wait for dips for any fresh buying.

As a result, the KSE-100 index settled at 42,347.23 points, up 133.75 points or 0.32pc from the preceding session.

The trading volume decreased 21.7pc to 226.7 million shares while the traded value went down 22.9pc to $27.5m on a day-on-day basis.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included WorldCall Telecom Ltd (68.7m shares), Dewan Motors Ltd (12.4m shares), Pakistan Refinery Ltd (9.5m shares), Hascol Petroleum Ltd (9m shares) and TRG Pakistan Ltd (8.7m shares).

Sectors that contributed to the index performance were technology and communication (46.9 points), fertiliser (40.9 points), exploration and production (24.4 points), power generation and distribution (22.6 points) and automobile parts and accessories (7.2 points).

Companies registering the biggest increase in their share prices in absolute terms were Colgate-Palmolive Pakistan Ltd (Rs40.19), Mari Petroleum Company Ltd (Rs26.74), Premium Textile Mills Ltd (Rs25), Khyber Tobacco Company Ltd (Rs21.20) and JDW Sugar Mills Ltd (Rs19).

Shares that declined the most in rupee terms were Gatron Industries Ltd (Rs31.20), Sitara Chemical Industries Ltd (Rs18.74), ICI Pakistan Ltd (Rs10.29), Al-Abbas Sugar Mills Ltd (Rs8) and Towellers Ltd (Rs7.42).

Foreign investors remain­­ed net sellers as they off­loaded shares worth $0.37m.

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2022