Stocks edge higher in cautious trading

In yet another range-bound session on Thursday, the KSE-100 index opened in the green zone but closed barely higher than its preceding close. Topline Securities said the market-moving announcements included the prime minister picking Asim Munir for the position of the country’s next chief of army staff for three years. Arif Habib Ltd said the ongoing political uncertainty led the investors to book profits at higher levels. Investors’ confidence remained low because the president’s final approval for the appointment of the new army chief was still awaited when the trading session came to a close. This resulted in lower market participation as volumes on the mainboard remained sluggish, it said. As a result, the KSE-100 index settled at 42,903.65 points, up 23.34 points or 0.05 per cent from the preceding session. The trading volume increased 10.5pc to 153.1 million shares while the traded value went up 14pc to $26.2m on a day-on-day basis. Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included WorldCall Telecom Ltd (25.6m shares), Hascol Petroleum Ltd (9.1m shares), TRG Pakistan Ltd (9.1m shares), JS Bank Ltd (8.4m shares) and Dewan Motors Ltd (7.9m shares).