Foreign interest helps Pakistan's market soar

Karachi: Pakistani stocks ended higher on Monday to close at a 19-month high as investors shrugged off militant violence in the country's northwest, thanks to strong foreign interest, dealers said.

The Karachi Stock Exchange's benchmark 100-share index ended 0.30 per cent, or 31.33 points, higher at 10,447.84.

Highest close

It was the highest close for the KSE-100 since August 20, 2008, when it ended at 10,525.99. The index touched an intraday high of 10,491.82 points. Volume rose to 221.95 million shares from 205.11 million traded on Friday.

"There was some concern in the market after the attacks, especially the one in Peshawar, which pulled the index down in the negative zone for some time," said Sajjad Mankani, associate director at brokerage BMA Capital Management.