KARACHI: Encouraged by the return of foreign investors a day ago, stocks opened the gap up on Wednesday.

The index leapt up to the intraday high by 587 points, but succumbed to selling pressure as the day wore off. It finished higher by 156 points (0.30 per cent) at 45,063 points.

The rally was spearheaded by the cement sector over expectations of a rise in prices after reports emerged that the court has stopped plant expansion in Punjab.

Lucky Cement was up 4.9pc, D.G. Khan Cement 4.9pc, Fauji Cement 4.76pc and Cherat Cement 3.75pc.

“However, the poor quarterly result announcement by Pakistan Oilfields derailed the market momentum and also triggered a selloff in other peer companies, namely Pakistan Petroleum and Oil and Gas Development Company,” said analysts at Elixir Securities.

Sectors contributing to the index rise included cement, which added 173 points, banking 112 points, and food and personal care 38 points.

The exploration and production sector took away 166 points from the index while fertiliser and chemical sectors shaved off 58 points and 19 points, respectively.

The volume improved 50pc from the previous day to 340 million shares. The average traded value also increased 36pc to Rs18.2 billion.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volume included TRG Pakistan, Fauji Cement, Sui Southern Gas, Aisha Steel Mills and Power Cement, reflecting 27pc of total turnover.

Major index movers inclu­ded Habib Bank and Hub Power, which incre­ased 2.17pc and 1.75pc, respectively.

Pakistan Oilfields Ltd lost 5pc, Pakistan Petroleum 3.23pc and Fauji Fertiliser 2.39pc.

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2018