KARACHI: The Pakistani stock market closed higher on Friday following news that the government had struck a deal with protesters occupying the main street in the capital and the protesters had agreed to go home.

The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index ended 1.91 per cent, or 310.68 points, higher at 16,601.77.

Investors bought stocks in Fauji Cement, Maple Leaf Cement, Byco Petroleum and finance firm Jahangir Siddiqui.

The KSE-100 had fallen 525 points on Tuesday — the worst single-day decline in over four years — over fears of political turmoil after the Supreme Court ordered the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in a corruption case.

There were higher volumes of trading in the Karachi Stock Exchange on Friday despite a strike in Karachi over the murder of a leading politician, said dealer Mohammad Rizwan, the senior manager of equity sales at Topline Securities.

Fauji Cement rose 7.26 per cent to 7.39 rupees per share while Byco Petroleum was up 4.75 per cent to 13.90 rupees per share.

D.G. Khan Cement rose 2.83 per cent to 52.60 rupees per share and Engro Foods was up 4.55 per cent to 99.29 rupees per share.

In the currency market, the Pakistani rupee ended weaker at 97.64/97.69 against the dollar, compared to Thursday’s close of 97.58/97.65.

Overnight rates in the money market ended at 9.25 per cent compared to Thursday’s close of 9.40 per cent.