Staff Reporter Karachi
After four days of consistent decline, the Pakistan bourse turned bullish on Thursday and crossed the 48,000-point barrier as the US State Department appreciated Islamabad’s support in matters pertaining to Afghanistan.
The hike in steel, fertiliser and cement prices put the spotlight on the three sectors where major names moved higher.
A drop in prices of vehicles on the back of withdrawal of federal excise duty improved the outlook for the auto sector and sparked a buying spree as investors expected higher sales of cars in coming months.
Meanwhile, a spike in international crude oil prices turned the local oil sector stocks attractive and a majority of them ended the day on a positive note.
Earlier, trading began on an optimistic note and the up trend continued throughout the session. The market’s rise accelerated towards the end and it closed with inflated gains.
At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded an increase of 805.25 points, or 1.7%, to settle at 48,053.17.
