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Equities marginally up on LSE

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: Equities were marginally up on the Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) here on the last clearing day. Adamjee Insurance led the market, while the volume of transactions remained high as compared to Thursday's.

The LSE 101-share index registered a marginal improvement of 1.03 points to close at 479.40 points as against 478.37 points of Thursday. The total turnover amounted to 120.669 million shares as compared to 58.253 million shares of a day earlier.

The market opened on a positive note and kept on showing bullish signs till the first half of the second trading session. In the second half, the market fell victim to profit-taking by the weak-holders. However, a few minutes before the close, it landed again in the positive column, and finally ended on an encouraging note.

The bulk of the activity was seen in Adamjee Insurance and Bank of Punjab, which scored handsome gains and closed on a positive note.

The market analysts said that in the near future the market was likely to retain the bullish sentiments. The situation, however, may turn different if something negative happens on the political or economic fronts, they observed.

Asif Rashid of ABN Amro said that there was a rumour in the market that despite decrease in the oil prices in the international market the Government of Pakistan had no plan to cut down the prices of oil. On this anticipation, buying was also seen in oil and gas sector but the rumour was discounted soon. As a result, PSO lost earlier gains and ended on a negative note. A phenomenal buying was also seen in the power and fibre sectors, he added.

He said in the near-future, the market was likely to show bullish signs and to consolidate its position. As such there was no negative news, therefore, there was no reason for fall of the equity values in the near-future, he observed.

Out of a total of 166 scrips traded during the day, 37 improved their worth, 41 landed in the minus column, while 88 stayed pegged to their overnight levels.

Adamjee Insurance gained Rs 8.30, Bank of Punjab Rs 6.05, Nishat Mills Rs 3, Essa Cement Industries Rs 2 and Dandot Cement Company up by Rs 1.25.

PSO was down by Rs 2.00, Engro Chemical Rs 1.55, Highnoon Laboratories Rs 1.50, English Leasing Limited and Reliance Cotton Spinning were down by Re 1 each.