Engro helps Karachi Stock extend bullish rally

Pakistan's Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) stayed bullish for the second straight session on Monday as Engro Corporation and Maple Leaf Cement kept investors interested in trading activities. The benchmark KSE 100-Index surged 0.67 percent, or 170.46 points, to 25,773.81 points Monday, up from Friday's close of 25, 603.35 points. The KSE All Share Index augmented 0.84 percent or 159.93 points to 19,269.68 points, the KSE 30-Index gained 0.68 percent or 127. 16 points to 18,754.75 points, whereas the KMI 30-Index rose 0.69 percent or 292.85 points to 42,590.28 points. During Monday's trading session, the key index hit an intraday high of 25,895.88 points, as against an intraday low of 25,603.35 points. Engro Corporation led the bullish rally on the top Pakistani bourse, which regained some of the ground lost last week. Maple Leaf Cement's announcement of results was taken positively as its shares gained more than 4 percent. This also reflected well on other cement scrips as the sector remained in the limelight Monday. Trading volume swelled by 50.68 million shares to 283.43 million shares, turnover increased by 110.37 million rupees (1.05 million U.S. dollars) to 8.04 billion rupees (76.58 million U.S. dollars), whilst market capitalization rose by 52.03 billion rupees (495.55 million U.S. dollars) to 6.28 trillion rupees (59. 82 billion U.S. dollars). Among the 368 actives Monday, prices of 201 issues advanced, 154 declined, whereas 13 others stayed unchanged. Lafarge Pakistan, Bank of Punjab Right and Dewan Cement were most heavily traded, with trading volume at 38.63 million shares, 32.59 million shares, and 22.67 million shares, respectively. Nestle Pakistan led advancers by rising 196 rupees (1.86 U.S. dollars) to end at 8,997 rupees (85.68 U.S. dollars), while on the other hand Bata Pakistan led the losers by falling 90 rupees (85. 71 U.S. dollars) to finish at 2,975 rupees (28.33 U.S. dollars).