Karachi: Pakistani stocks ended up yesterday, led by middle-tier shares on hopes of healthy earnings, while dealers said gains were limited on security and political concerns after a senior government figure was killed.
Salman Taseer, the Punjab province governor and a liberal politician close to President Asif Ali Zardari, was killed in Islamabad on Tuesday by one of his guards, apparently incensed by the victim's opposition to the blasphemy law.
The Karachi Stock Exchange's benchmark 100-share index ended 0.25 per cent, or 30.58 points, up at 12,140.84 on turnover of 168.22 million shares.
"The local bourse remained rangebound amid uncertainty on the political front," said Samar Iqbal, dealer at Topline Securities Ltd. "Institutions were active on lower levels amid hopes the upcoming results and payouts would be better than expected."
