Stocks cross 42,000 on FATF optimism.

KARACHI -- The expectation of Pakistan getting off the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) kept the bulls of the equity market firmly in the driver's seat on Friday.

Investors opted for across-the-board buying as hefty volumes were witnessed in both main- and side-board shares, said Arif Habib Ltd.

FATF said Pakistan has met all 34 items on two separate action plans and that the watchdog will now schedule an on-site visit to verify the implementation and sustainability of the country's money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures.

According to JS Global, investors should stay cautious going forward and treat the current upside as a selling opportunity.

The KSE-100 index settled at 42,140.76 points, up 410.6 points or 0.98 per cent from a day ago.

The trading volume increased 75.1pc to 283.9 million shares while the traded value went up 89.5pc to $43.4m on a day-on-day basis.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included Cnergyico PK Ltd (31.92m shares), Hum Network Ltd (17.69m shares), Pakistan Refinery Ltd (17.11m shares), Oilboy Energy Ltd (12.33m shares) and TPL Properties Ltd (10.67m shares).

Sectors that contributed...