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RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: The index posted a modest increase as speculative forces ruled the roost at the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) on Monday where second tier shares recorded some improvement while all the trading stocks suffered mild correction.

The market throughout the session showed erratic movements. It opened weak as there was no positive report from the economic or political side. It declined mainly because of profit taking activity in the blue chips and investment stocks.

The index suffered a maximum fall of 22 points during the day but short covering in second tier stocks like Dewan Salman, Dhan Fibers and KESC helped to recover all the losses and the market closed in the plus zone.

The KSE-100 index rose by 8.70 points or 0.44 percent to 1975.71 from 1967.01 of Friday. The volume amounted to 224.65 million shares as against 209.449 million shares of Friday. The market capitalisation improved to Rs 499.828 billion from Rs 497.110 billion.

An analyst from Westminster and Eastern Services Ltd., said that the tussle between the bears and the bulls created pressure across the board, and the index lost about 20 points in the first trading session. The index opened in the minus column, owing to mixed news regarding the World Bank's intervention in the Wapda-Hubco dispute, and also the fall in the global markets. However, broad based buying interest in the final trading hours, strongly supported the index, especially in the fibre sector, where substantial increase in both the volume and the price was witnessed.

The range bound index pulled back into the positive column, after evidencing an absorption of the selling pressure. The analyst believed that technically, the market was coming out of the over sold zone and advancing towards the neutral zone.

Faisal Abbas of AHR Securities said that psychological impact of the regional as well as European and American capital markets affected the overall market sentiment adversely in the initial stage trading and the index plunged sharply by almost 20 points.

However, fresh buying emerged in the second session on account of on-going attractive low levels of various blue chip stocks coupled with support from the bulls who appeared to be in a heavy buying position, which inevitably resulted in the recovery of the market and in the end it closed by plus 8.70 points.

PTCL on a trading of 31.275 million shares moved to Rs 31.60 from Rs 31.80, Dewan Salman Fibers rose by Rs 6.20 to Rs 61.70 as nearly 26.712 million shares changed hands, Chakwal Cement improved by 80 paisa to Rs 3.80 on a turnover of 25.382 million shares, Ibrahim Fibers on a trading of 19.855 million shares closed at Rs 20.15, i.e.lower by 10 paisa, and KESC on a volume of 14.911 million shares recorded an increase of Rs 1.60 to Rs 16.50.