KARACHI: The benchmark index gained 1,113 points (2.5 per cent) on Tuesday to close at 45,636, with buying seen across all major sectors and sideboard items.

Investor interest, which was low a day ago, received a boost after some media reports suggested that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif may not be dismissed in haste by the Supreme Court. Moreover, the Lahore High Court also dismissed a petition seeking the disqualification of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

Ten top KSE-100 index point contributors included United Bank, which went up 3.4pc, followed by Lucky Cement 3.4pc, Oil and Gas Development Company 3.4pc, Engro Corp 3.3pc, Hub Power 2.8pc, Pakistan Petroleum 2.8pc, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines 4.9pc, MCB Bank 2.3pc, Dawood Hercules 4.1pc and Habib Bank 0.9pc, adding 495 points in total.

Only eight stocks closed lower, eroding 13 points. Banks added 228 points, cements 149 points, exploration and production 145 points and fertilisers 142 points.

Dealers at Elixir Securities pointed out that stocks opened on a positive note, yet recorded lacklustre trading in early hours. However, activity started to pick up as the day progressed on buying interest reportedly from local institutional investors. All major sectors, including financial, cement, oil and fertiliser, garnered investor interest.

However, some market pundits thought the bounce-back for one day signified nothing. “For a consistent upside trend, investors will have to watch political developments for a few days,” said one analyst.

The local equity market came off by 5pc in July and is down 16pc from its peak on May 24. “This is one of the steepest falls in the last 12 years,” noted analysts at Topline Securities.

Figures provided by National Clearing Company of Pakistan showed that except mutual funds that bought stocks worth $4.27 million, all foreign/local individual/institutional investors took profit instead of building new positions.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2017