Pakistan stocks end higher on led by Oil; rupee strengthens

KARACHI - Pakistani stocks closed higher on Wednesday with the Karachi Stock Exchange 100-share index up 0.43 percent, or 138.99 points, to end at 32,248.86. Rising international oil prices triggered rally in oil stocks. Cement stocks remained under pressure on investor fears of price wars after DG Khan Cement's announced its expansion plans yesterday, said Samar Iqbal an analyst at Topline Securities. Oil stocks as expected tracked gains in global crude and ended the day in green led by Pakistan Petroleum Ltd. Engro Corporation Ltd opened positive however rumours of foreign selling pulled stock in red, said Saleem John, a analyst Al-Hoqani Securities & Investment Corp. Pakistan Petroleum Ltd was up 1.43 percent to 166.20 rupees, while Engro Corporation Ltd was down 0.99 percent to 275.75 rupees. The rupee ended higher at 101.60/101.65 against the dollar, compared with Tuesday's close of 101.67/101.72 Overnight rates in the money market remained flat at 7.50 percent. - Reuters