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Bullish spell continues on LSE

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: Pre-Eid bullish spell continued at the Lahore Stock Exchange on Wednesday and equities registered modest gains under the lead of fuel and energy sector said to be under the influence of Monday's promulgation of the ordinance seeking the establishment of Natural Gas Regulatory Authority.

The LSE index jumped 13.16 points, closing at 381.77 against 368.61 of last Thursday, while transaction volume declined to 52.358 million shares as compared to 70.773 million shares traded on the last working day of the previous week.

The market opened on a bullish note, which continued during the entire day's trading. However, it took a dip just before closing time, the result of profit-taking.

The fuel and energy sector showed substantial improvement following the promulgation of the ordinance establishing Natural Gas Regulatory Authority. The news about the PSO board's meeting, scheduled for January 15, also pushed the fuel sector up, said Asif Rashid of First Capital ABN Amro.

He maintained that the energy sector remained attractive throughout the day because of the news published in the local press that the State Bank had released foreign exchange, amounting to $50.9 million, for Hubco's fifth scheduled debt service payment.

This resulted in heavy buying in the energy scrips by the financial institutions and potential brokerage houses, he added.

Dr. Shahid Zia of Zafar Securities said that the market moved upward on speculation as "there was no news about any improvement in the balance sheets of the gainer companies".

He pointed out there was an across-the-board decline in the regional bourses, particularly the Bombay Stock Exchange, which registered a decline of 250 points during the day. When all the regional markets are losing how can Pakistani bourses show an upward trend? He asked rhetorically. His answer: Because of speculation.

The advancing stocks were far ahead of declining ones. Out of a total of 137 companies, 67 improved their values, seven went down while 63 maintained their previous levels.

PSO, among the gainers, improved by Rs 11.50, Adamjee Insurance gained Rs 7.00, Sui Southern and Sui Northern were up by Rs 5.50 and Rs 3.55, respectively.

The chemical and financial sector remained inactive. In the negative column, Nishat Mills lost Rs 1.25, Engro Chemical declined by Rs 1.10 and Taj Textile and Union Bank were down by Re 0.30 each.

PTC was the market leader whose 23.089 million shares changed hands, followed by PSO and Sui Northern with total transaction of 6.232 million and 5.743 million shares, respectively.