PSX closes higher on Pakistan’s likely exclusion from FATF list

KARACHI: The Pakistan stock market closed on a higher note on Friday as investors’ confidence improved on the news of expected removal of Pakistan from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.

An analyst at Arif Habib Limited said that bulls dominated the market throughout the day as Pakistan hopes to come off the FATF grey list today.

“The FATF, a global watchdog for combatting money laundering and terrorist financing, is expected to announce today whether Pakistan will be removed or retained on its increased monitoring list, also known as the grey list,” he added.

Investors opted for across the board buying as hefty volumes were witnessed in the main board along with side board stocks, he said.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange KSE-100 shares Index gained 0.98 per cent, or 140.60 points, to close at 42,140.76 points. The KSE-30 shares Index gained 1.02 per cent, or 162.94 points, to close at 16,100.83 points.

Going forward, the analysts recommend investors to remain cautious and avail the current upside as a selling opportunity.

As many as 353 scrips were active of which 238 advanced, 95 declined and 20 remained unchanged.

The ready market volumes stood at 282.93 million shares, compared with the turnover of 162.17 million shares in the last trading session.

The companies which reflected the highest gains included Unilever Foods up Rs1,800 to close at Rs25,800/share, Bata (Pak) up Rs 121.25 to close at Rs 2,021.25/share.

The companies which reflected the most losses included Rafhan Maize down Rs595 to close at Rs 9,900/share, and Pak Tobacco down Rs12.27 to close at Rs 981.50/share.

The highest volumes were witnessed in Cnergyico PK with a turnover of 31.92 million shares. The scrip gained 23 paisas to close at Rs5.37/share, followed by Hum Network with a turnover of 17.69 million shares. It gained 32 paisas to close at Rs 7.50/share.

Pak Refinery remained the third with a turnover of 17.11 million shares. It gained 51 paisas to finish at Rs 17.91/share.