Karachi equities ended 2015 in the red with the KSE-100 index closing almost flat at 32,816.31 points Thursday. Amid a range-bound trading activity, the benchmark index shed nine points during the volatile session to have hit the intraday high and low of 32,859.11 and 32,735.19 points. Foreign investors remained positive as they ended the day''s trade with net buying of $ 2.12 million.
The positivity is attributable to foreign corporate investors who bought portfolios worth $ 2.21 million followed by individuals'' $ 27,297. Overseas Pakistanis made $ 116,108 selling. Trade increased to 99.63 million shares from Wednesday''s 79.95 million. The traded value appreciated to Rs 5.57 billion compared to the previous Rs 5.17 billion. "Trading on the last day of the year remained range-bound," said analysts at Topline Research.
Of the 325 scrips traded 163 gained, 140 lost and 22 remained unchanged in value. The market capital inched up to Rs 6.94 trillion. Gharibwal Cement led volumes with 6.9 million trading turnover. The cement producer appreciated at close to Rs 47.45 per share. Other best performing stocks were Pak Elektron, K-Electric, Silk Bank, Fauji Cement, TRG Pakistan, Maple Leaf Cement, Southern Electric, Fatima Fertiliser and D.G Khan Cement.
"The inauguration of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor''s western route by the Prime Minister invited investor interest in selected cement stocks," the analysts viewed. This helped cement scrips like Maple Leaf and D.G. Khan grow by 2.1 and 0.4 percent, respectively. Netsol Technologies (NETSOL) hit its upper limit on the back of what analysts said the company''s announcement that a majority shareholder in NETSOL bought its 225,000 shares. Future trade moved southward and slid to 13.8 million contracts.