Stocks stay flat amid dearth of triggers

KARACHI: The stock market turned in a flat performance in a cautiously traded session on Tuesday given persistent political and economic challenges amid a lack of clarity on the future direction of the country in the near term. Topline Securities said the market began trading on a positive note and the benchmark KSE-100 index hit an intraday high of 777.77 points to 61,237.51. However, it couldn’t sustain the early gains as the lingering political gridlock hampering the formation of the federal government soured the market sentiments. However, in the pharmaceutical sector, a surge ensued following news of the ministry’s green light for deregulating the prices of non-essential medications. GlaxoSmithKline Pakistan Ltd, The Searle Company Ltd, Citi Pharma Ltd and AGP Ltd all hit their upper circuits.