KARACHI: The stock market closed the business week on a positive note on Friday after investors looked to the superior judiciary for the resolution of the political standoff.

Arif Habib Ltd said the index of representative shares opened in the green as investors waited for the Islamabad High Court’s decision on the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan.

Trading resumed after the Friday prayer break with clarity prevailing on the political front as the court approved the bail petition of Mr Khan. Investor activity varied throughout the session with decent volumes appearing on the exchange’s mainboard.

As a result, the KSE-100 index settled at 41,487.58 points, up 161.95 points or 0.39 per cent from the preceding session.

The overall trading volume decreased by 7.6pc to 89.5 million shares. The traded value went up 23.3pc to $11.9m on a day-on-day basis.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included WorldCall Telecom Ltd (9.5m shares), Maple Leaf Cement Factory Ltd (5.4m shares), Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (4.1m shares), Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (3.7m shares) and D.G. Khan Cement Ltd (3.2m shares).

Sectors contributing the most to the index performance were cement (57.7 points), investment banking (57.9 points), paper and board (12.9 points), food and personal care products (11.3 points) and oil marketing company (9.3 points).

Companies registering the biggest increases in their share prices in absolute terms were Nestle Pakistan Ltd (Rs100), Sapphire Fibres Ltd (Rs75.23), Packages Ltd (Rs16.81), Lucky Core Industries Ltd (Rs11.05) and Blessed Textiles Ltd (Rs9.99).

Companies that recorded the biggest declines in their share prices in absolute terms were Bhanero Textile Mills Ltd (Rs70.77), ZIL Ltd (Rs24.75), the Thal Industries Corporation Ltd (Rs22.42), Shield Corporation Ltd (Rs19.50) and JS Global Capital Ltd (Rs16.92).

Foreign investors were net buyers as they purchased shares worth $0.1m.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2023