Pakistan stocks end up; rupee weakens; o/n rates unchanged

DAWN.COM

Pakistan’s main stock market closed up on Wednesday after the country’s Supreme Court adjourned a case that could threaten the country’s prime minister with disqualification, analysts said. The Karachi Stock Exchange benchmark 100-share index gained 52.61 points, or 0.36 per cent, to close at 14,564.68 points on volume of 43.49 million shares. Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has been ordered to re-open corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. Failing to do so could see him lose office, further discrediting the government. “There was a fear that the prime minister may face the same prosecution as his predecessor for not re-opening the cases in Switzerland, which would have increased instability. That not happening was a positive factor,” said Atif Zafar, a research analyst at the JS Global financial services company. The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned proceedings until August 8. Ashraf’s predecessor Yusuf Raza Gilani was disqualified last month by the Supreme Court for failing to re-open the cases. In the currency market, the rupee weakened to close at 94.58/63 to the dollar, compared with 94.43/49 on Tuesday. Overnight rates in the money market remained unchanged at 11.90 per cent.