KSE close higher, rupee steady

The Karachi Stock Exchange (KES) market closed higher on Thursday, driven by institutional buying and strong corporate results, traders said.

KSE benchmark 100-share index ended 0.87 percent, or 147.69 points, higher at 17,056.36.

“Finally (the) Karachi bourse managed to close above (the) psychological mark of 17,000,” said Samar Iqbal, a dealer at Topline Securities.

“Institutional buying and good corporate results helped equity prices to improve by approximately 1 percent.”

Cement stocks performed well. Fauji Cement rose 3.88 percent to 7.77 rupees per share.

In the currency market, the Pakistani rupee ended steady at 97.68/97.74 against the dollar, compared to Wednesday’s close of 97.68/97.73.

Overnight rates in the money market ended at 9.50 percent compared to Wednesday’s close of 9 percent.