Stocks end up, rupee strengthens

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Stocks end up, rupee strengthens

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KSE benchmark 100-share index closed 1.09 percent, or 152.14 points, higher at 14142.52 points.

02 May,2012 08:33 pm

Pakistani stocks rose on Tuesday with selective buying by investors, while the market remained volatile because of political uncertainty in the country, dealers said.The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-share index closed 1.09 percent, or 152.14 points, higher at 14142.52 points on turnover of 160.7 million shares.Earlier in the day, the index reached an intra-day high of 14166.65.Shares for the Karachi Electric Supply Company and Engro Corp led the surge.With Engro, there were rumours in the market that gas supply to its new urea plant will be resumed, said Atif Zafar, a research analyst at the JS Global financial services company.In the currency market, the Pakistani rupee ended stronger at 90.90/95 to the dollar, compared with Mondays close of 91.02/06.The rupee has been supported by remittances, which rose 21.45 percent to $9.73 billion in the first nine months of the 2011/12 fiscal year, compared with $8.02 billion in the same period last year.In March, remittances totaled $1.14 billion.In its monetary policy statement this month, the State Bank of Pakistansaid the external sector was likely to remain under pressure because of both external debt payments and a lack of foreign aid.Pakistans GDP growth is estimated at 3.2 percent for 2011/12 fiscal year, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.The growth target was 4.2 percent as originally presented in the budget announced June 2011 and later revised down to 4 percent following floods in August and September that year.Pakistans current account deficit widened to a provisional $3.089 billion in the first nine months of the 2011/12 fiscal year, compared with $10 million over the same period in the previous year, the central bank said on Wednesday.Overnight rates in the money market ended at 10.75 percent, down from Mondays close of 11.90 because of increased liquidity in the market.