Pakistani stocks end higher; rupee firms

Bullish activity was witnessed in an oversold market and there was investor interest in oil,fertilizer and banking sectors because of strong valuations,said Ahsan Mehanti,director at Arif Habib Investments Ltd.

Relations between Pakistan and the United States have soured over Islamabad’s alleged support to Taliban-affiliated militants.

Washington accuses Pakistan’s powerful spy agency,Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI),of directly backing the Afghan Taliban-allied Haqqani network and of providing support for the Sept. 13 attack on the U.S. Kabul mission.

Pakistan furiously rejected the allegations and warned the United States that it risked losing an ally if it kept publicly criticising Pakistan over the militant groups.

In the currency market,the rupee firmed to 87.38/43 to the dollar,compared with Monday’s close of 87.44/51,amid a lack of import payments but dealers expect the local unit to come under pressure as payments are typically higher during the end of the month.

However in the open market,the rupee was traded at 89.10/30 to the dollar after hitting a record low of 89.90/90.10 to the dollar on Monday.

The rupee hit a record low of 87.92 to the dollar this month.

A decision by the government not to seek a new loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would likely add to the pressure on the Pakistani rupee.

In the money market,overnight rates were flat at the top level of 13.40 percent,unchanged from Monday’s close amid tight liquidity in the interbank market.