Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Pakistani stocks rally; rupee hits record low

May 22, 2012 by Reuters

A trader on the floor of the Karachi Stock Exchange looks on at the trading screen.—Reuters (File Photo)

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s stock market rallied on Tuesday with investors picking up cheaper shares on the back of selling last week, dealers said, alongside a record low against the dollar for the local currency.

The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-index ended 1.92 per cent, or 266.34 points, higher at 14,142.08 on volume of 122.98 million shares, compared to Monday’s close of 13,875.74.

“After several days of selling, rates became attractive for investors, so there was buying today,” said Shuja Rizvi, a dealer at Al-Hoqani Securities.

In the currency market, the Pakistani rupee hit a record low of 91.65/70 to the dollar, compared with Monday’s close of 91.26.32.

“There were several large payments, mostly for oil imports, which drove the rupee lower,” said Abdul Basit, a dealer at Elixir Securities.

Overnight rates in the money market closed lower at 9.10, compared to 10.50 on Monday, because of increased liquidity in the interbank market.