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Bull-run continues on LHC

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: Bulls continued to dominate on the Lahore Stock Exchange for the second consecutive day amid a significant buying activity in the fuel and energy sectors.

The LSE-101 share index was up by 5.81 points to 434.80 points as against 428.99 points of Monday. The trade volume was almost half of the previous day. It amounted to 68.061 million shares to 126.011 million shares as compared with a day earlier, showing a decline of 57.950 million shares.

The market resumed trading on its overnight level and continued to move up till the close, under the lead of energy and fuel sectors.

A significant buying interest was seen in Sui Southern, Sui Northern and Pakistan State Oil, market analysts said. Speculative chips namely PTCL and Fauji Fertilizer also scored gains and closed on a positive note. Another feature of the day was the surge in ready board items, which, they said, was a healthy sign and will have a positive impact on the sentiments of the market.

A significant activity was also visible in textile sector, which according to the market analysts, was due to good business of textile mills because of a good cotton crop in the country. The textile sector is likely to boost further, they added.

After observing a downward technical correction last week, the market was back on right track and was likely to strengthen further during the running week, said market analyst Imran Butt of Trust Securities. The surge in the ready board indicates the market is showing strength on technical grounds, he added.

At the moment there was no negative news, therefore, the market was expected to consolidate further on Wednesday, Imran Butt observed.

Overall there were 63 gainers to 32 losers, while 114 maintained their overnight positions out of a total of 209 scrips exchanged hands during the trading sessions.

Among the major gainers, Lever Brothers was up by Rs. 75.00, BOC Pakistan Rs. 20.00, Crescent Textile Mills Rs. 10.00, PSO Rs. 5.00, Mari Gas Company Rs. 4.50, National Refinery Rs. 4.00, Maqbool Textile Mills Rs. 2.00 and Sui Southern Rs. 1.90.

In the negative column, Shell Pakistan was down by Rs. 15.00, Adamjee Insurance Rs. 3.40, Engro Chemical Rs. 1.80, Genertech Pakistan Rs. 1.40, while Nishat (Chunian) dipped by Rs. 1.35.

PTC maintained its lead in terms of volume with 37.099 million shares followed by SNGPL and PSO with 11.475 million and 5.627 million shares respectively.