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LSE index up 7 points

Recorder Report

Lahore: Bulls returned to the driving seat at the Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) on Tuesday, pushing the index up by 7.26 points amid descending volumes.

There was not much change in the trade pattern and the market opened on an overnight depressed note. However, it landed in the positive column before the end of the first trading session because of buying in major chips. The run-up was not confined to any particular field and was equally participated by all sectors.

In the early second session, following rumours about escalation on Pak-India border, the market again started showing weakness, and at one time landed in the negative territory. But soon the bearish spell was overshadowed by speculative buying in a number of scrips, stock analysts said. The market was trading in the positive column at the time of the close. At the final bell, the number of gainers out weighed the losers.

Though an across the board upsurge was seen in the market, bulk of activity remained confined to selected scrips, particularly in Adamjee Insurance, said market analyst Imran Butt of Trust Securities. A day earlier, Adamjee Insurance had suffered massive erosion. Meanwhile, all other scrips that had suffered losses on Monday also performed well and ended on a positive note, he added.

At present, he said, the market was behaving directionlessely, and the investors were awaiting any positive news to enter the ring. Main institutions were also on the sidelines and not taking interest in buying. Thus, in his view, the market would continue moving in a narrow range for the next few days, Imran Butt said.

The LSE-101 share index registered an improvement of 7.26 points to close at 471.02 points as against 463.76 points of Monday. Total turnover amounted to 46.757 million shares as compared to 90.524 million shares of Monday, showing a significant decrease of 43.767 million shares.

Out of a total of 157 scrips, 44 improved their worth, 17 lost their value while 96 stayed pegged to their overnight level.

In the positive column, Adamjee Insurance soared by Rs 34.50, Bank of Punjab Rs 7.00, Dewan Salman Fibre Rs 4.90 and PSO and Engro Chemical Rs 1.75 each.

Among the major losers, National Refinery Limited was down by Rs 3.00, Pak Datacom Limited Rs 2.00, ICP SEMF Rs 0.25, 21st ICP Mutual Fund and First Fid. Leasing (Nishat) Rs 0.20 each.

PTCL continued to lead the market in terms of turnover with 19.970 million shares followed by Adamjee Insurance and Dhan Fibres with 4.079 million and 3.597 million shares respectively.