20000122

Bulls go wild on LSE

Recorder Report

LAHORE: Bulls went wild on the last clearing day of the week, as foreign buying in blue chips, coupled with institutional support, prompted the share market to become buoyant amid hectic activity.

The LSE 101-share index was record high, up by 32.23 points to close at 448.48 points from 416.25 points of the second last clearing day of the week.

A significant improvement in trade volume was also witnessed again during the day. It ascended to 188.956 million shares as compared to 112.149 million shares of Thursday, showing an improvement of 76.880 million shares.

The buying euphoria was visible in almost every scrip and there was no let-up in the bull-run from the start till the close of the market. All the blue chips scored handsome gains and finally ended at higher levels. The run-up was not confined to any particular field but was equally participated by all sectors.

The positive closing indicated that the market was likely to continue depicting bullish signs during the coming week, said market analysts.

Bulk of activity was seen in oil sector, especially in Shell Pakistan and PSO, however, other pivotals such as PTCL, Fauji Fertilizer, and Adamjee Insurance also showed a significant upward movement to finish on a healthy note.

The main reason behind the buying euphoria was the developments taking place with regard to the process of privatization of PTCL and on the front of oil and gas sector which had accentuated activity in the scrips, said Aun Abbas Kazmi of Khadim Ali Shah Bukhari and Company.

Across-the-board gains imply that the market will continue to perform well in the near future, Kazmi said.

Out of a total of 157 scrips that exchanged hands during the day, 67 improved in value, 15 lost their worth while the remaining 75 stayed glued to their overnight levels.

Shell Pakistan was up by Rs 10.00, PSO improved its value by Rs 8.80, Millat Tractors Rs 5.00, Kohinoor Weaving Mills Rs 4.75, Fauji Fertilizer Rs 4.65, Adamjee Insurance Rs4.00, Bank of Punjab Rs 3.15, and PTC Rs 3.00.

In the losers side, Union Bank lost its value by 45 paisa, First Fid. Leasing (Nishat) 40 paisa, Ibrahim Fibres 35 paisa, Crescent Knitwear 30 paisa while FFC-Jordan Fertilizer and Tri-Star Power 25 paisa each.

PTCL was the volume leader with a total traded turnover of 124.295 million shares followed by ICI with 26.243 million shares and Sui Northern with volume of 16.061 million shares.