KSE trade week begins in upbeat mood

KARACHI: Pakistan shares gained for a second straight trading session on Monday, adding 2.14 percent as investors eagerly await the launch of a government market bailout fund, dealers said.The Karachi Stock Exchange's benchmark KSE-100 index gained 123.83 points to close at 5,917.4. At mid-session, the index had gained 162 points before dropping back.Volume was 210.11 million shares, almost on par with Friday's level and near the average 250 million shares that changed hands daily in 2007, when the market was tipped as one to watch among developing economies.Shares have rebounded since Thursday's close. At that point, the market had lost 37 percent of its value since December 15, when regulators removed a "floor" imposed in August to stop heavy losses on the KSE-100.Investor confidence has been on the rise since the government announced last week that the state-owned National Investment Trust-State Enterprise Fund (NIT-SEF) would soon be launched, perhaps as soon as this week.The entity, funded by state institutions and a consortium of banks, will invest 20 billion rupees (250 million dollars) in eight selected stocks, and then resell them to overseas Pakistanis, in a bid to prop up the market.Analysts said the package could be launched at any time this week, but dealers were already in high spirits.