Staff Reporter
Karachi
In a turnaround, the stock market rose 178 points in range-bound trading on Friday as rising international crude oil prices kept investor interest alive.
A detailed verdict in former president Pervez Musharraf’s treason case, however, prevented the market from making hefty gains.
Trading in the first session began on a bullish note, however, selling pressure emerged shortly afterwards and the index traded within a narrow range. It ended the session with a loss of 127 points.
The oscillation in the index continued in the second session as well but a buying spree in the final hour supported the recovery in the index.
At close, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded an increase of 177.62 points, or 0.44%, to settle at 40,832.99.
A report of Arif Habib Limited stated that the market traded in a range of +399 points and -161 points during the two sessions of Friday and closed up 178 points. “Selling pressure was evident throughout the day but the oil chain, especially the exploration and production stocks, staged a good recovery by the end of the day,” it added. “Higher international oil prices kept investors’ interest alive.”
