Stocks snap losing streak

Having lost 393 points during last couple of sessions, the Karachi share market turned positive Wednesday. Led by second- and third-tier scrips, the rally saw KSE-100 index closing 198 points higher at 34,331.94 compared to 34,133.84 of Tuesday. The trading turnover, which mostly remains low due to Ramazan, surged to 392 million shares from 258 million of Tuesday.
The traded value accumulated at Rs 12 billion against Rs 10 billion a day earlier. Of the total 389 scrips, 223 posted gains, 138 lost their worth while 28 stayed unchanged. The market capitalisation ended northward to close beyond Rs 7.40 trillion compared to the previous Rs 7.37 trillion. The foreign investors ended the day with a net selling of $3.855 million.
K-Electric continued dominating the day''s trade as it was traded by 34 million shares. The power utility rose to Rs 8.54. Other best performers were Dewan Salman 25 million, Pace Pakistan 23 million, Dewan Cement 21.6 million, Pak Elektron 19 million, Power Cement 17.6 million, Dewan Motors 17.4 million, Jahangir Siddiqui Company 15 million, Azgard Nine 11 million and TRG Pakistan 11 million shares. Trade on the futures market was recorded higher at 62 million as compared to 60 million contracts of last session. "Stocks closed bullish ahead of year-end close led by second and third tier scrips on strong valuations," viewed Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corp. Higher banking spreads data for May''15 at 5.59pc amid Moody''s upgrade on deposit ratings last week, falling borrowing costs and higher global crude prices played a catalytic role in positive sentiment, the analyst added.
Cement sector remained strong due to what JS analyst Muhammad Mobeen said higher PSDP budget allocation. LPCL, POWER and DCL hit their upper circuits. The index heavyweight oil and gas sector also remained in the green on the back of upward movement in international oil prices. PSO and HASCOL added 1.3 and 2.5 percent. While NBP soared to its upper circuit in banking sector, MCB and UBL remained positive. KEL 1.2 percent remained in the limelight following the minister''s clarification that the government would not take over the privately-run power utility. Moving forward, the bourse is expected to remain range-bound due to rollover week.