Stocks 'cheer' fuel price hike with 291-point rally.

KARACHI -- The Pakistan Stock Exchange continued its positive momentum on Thursday as investors' confidence received a boost on the late-night announcement of a third increase in fuel prices in the last 20 days, said Arif Habib Ltd.

The government increaAsed diesel and petrol prices by Rs59 and Rs24, respectively, on Wednesday night in line with the International Monetary Fund's guidelines with regard to untargeted fuel subsidies.

Trading activity remaiAned healthy across the board with the cement sector staying in the limelight owing to a price increase in the North region. JS Global said investors should wait for clarity on the economic front and use any downside as a buying opportunity.

As a result, the KSE-100 index settled at 41,730.16 points, up 291.37 points or 0.7 per cent from a day ago.

The trading volume incrAeaAsed 14.4pc to 162.2 million shares while the traded value went up 0.3pc to $23m on a day-on-day basis.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included WorldCall Telecom Ltd (21.55m shares), Oilboy Energy Ltd (11.39m shares), Maple Leaf Cement Factory Ltd (10.23m shares), PakisAtan Refinery Ltd (6.49m shares) and Cnergyico PK Ltd (5.88m shares).

Sectors that...