KSE leaps into new record
Bureau Report

KARACHI—Shares at Karachi Stock Exchange Thursday climbed by 12 points to a new record level at 15345. Investors took confidence from the PPP - MQM talks to form a possible power-sharing alliance. In early trade, the index had jumped about 70 points to hit its intra-day high of 15,401 points.
But as investors chose to sell-on-strength, the market retraced its steps by late trade. A bulk of buying was seen in cement shares, after recent data showed a 25 percent rise in cement sales in the fiscal year to date. Dealers say there was a strong momentum in the market, with a healthy turnover of 353 million shares — compared to 249 million on Wednesday. But the broader market was mix with 167 gainers against 152 decliners. KSE-30 Index gained 4 points to end the day at 18684.