Stocks add 134 points amid positive triggers

Trading on the stock exchange stayed range-bound on Monday even though the Financial Action Task Force announced that it took Pakistan off its grey list. Arif Habib Ltd said the stock market was unable to capitalise on the positive trigger because of the political upheaval, which kept investors at bay. The mainboard shares attracted reasonable volumes but the top volume leaders were mostly third-tier stocks. The local currency appreciated 0.2 per cent to 220.41 against the dollar in the interbank market. JS Global said investors should stay cautious at current levels and wait for dips for any fresh buying. As a result, the KSE-100 index settled at 42,347.23 points, up 133.75 points or 0.32pc from the preceding session. The trading volume decreased 21.7pc to 226.7 million shares while the traded value went down 22.9pc to $27.5m on a day-on-day basis.