Karachi Stocks Rise Most in Nine Months as PM Yousuf Raza Gilani Restores Judges

Pakistan stocks rose the most in nine months after Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani pledged to reinstate Supreme Court justices fired under military rule in 2007, ending a confrontation with the opposition.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and other deposed judges will be restored on March 21, Gilani said in a 6 a.m. televised address in Islamabad, meeting the demands of thousands of protesters who are challenging President Asif Ali Zardari. Authorities also lifted a ban on rallies and releases detained protesters.

The benchmark Karachi Stock Exchange 100 Index rose 313.07, or 5.4 percent, to 6,063.54 at the 3:30 p.m. local time close, the most since June 24, 2008. Oil & Gas Development Co. and Pakistan Petroleum Ltd. led gains.

“The stock market could gain 10 percent in the next few days since prices are attractive,” said Yasir Qadri, who manages the equivalent of $124.4 million as chief executive officer at MCB Asset Management Co. in Karachi. The judges’ issue “was a cloud hanging over the market for a long time.”

Traders distributed sweets in the trading hall today to celebrate the reinstatement of the chief justice. Eighty-three shares on the gauge rose, eight fell and nine remained unchanged.

(Bloomberg)

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