Stocks Observer. com

Pakistani stocks ended slightly firmer on Wednesday, buoyed by more financial help from the IMF, but slipped from the day’s highs as investors sold shares of Pakistan State Oil (PSO.KA) and Hub Power Co Ltd (HPWR.KA) after their annual results. The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index ended 0.17 percent, or 13.96 points, higher at 8058.46 points on turnover of 157 million shares. It set an intra-day high of 8,135.36 points. The KSE-index has now gained 37.4 percent this year after losing 58.3 percent in 2008. “The market after trading up for most of the day ended almost flat after the results from PSO and HUBCO failed to boost confidence,” said Asad Iqbal, managing director at Ismail Iqbal Securities Ltd. Shares were boosted early by MCB Bank’s acquisition of Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS.L) Pakistan operations for around $87 million and by news that Pakistan had received a further $1.2 billion from the International Monetary Fund as part of an emergency loan facili