April 29, 2002	Monday	Safar 15, 1423

FEARS associated with the referendum and the Supreme Court verdict on petitions against it overshadowed the trading on stock market last week as investors were too shaky to go for selected shares at the lower levels fearing a law and order situation after the opposition swept into action.

An idea of investor-apathy may well be had from the fact that some really encouraging corporate announcements and higher sale figures from some mega companies failed to lure them back into the rings and they preferred to unload long positions rather than buy at the dips.

The quarterly working results of leading companies including the PTCL, Hub-Power, the PSO, Engro Chemical, Shell Pakistan and some others may not be in line with investor-perceptions but are fairly encouraging in the backdrop of the changed financial scenario and the future world outlook.

But the reaction appears to be psychological rather than the logical and there could be buying euphoria in them after the market’s current worries are over.

Investors seem to be following the daily apex court proceedings on the most important constitutional issue, which could work on both sides of the market in future trading and are playing safe.

After rising to 1,882 points at one stage, the KSE 100-share index fell later to 1,856 points as good corporate announcements failed to stimulate fresh buying. The market capitalization also fell by Rs3.103 billion at Rs429.222 billion from Rs432.325 billion a week earlier.

The below market expectations, working results of the PSO and the Shell Pakistan, owing to inventory losses also worked against the sentiment as it dragged down the entire energy sector along with it prior to board meeting. The PSO declared an interim dividend of 20 per cent showing an increase of 4.83 per cent in post-tax profit.

The dividing line between the pro and anti-referendum exponents is getting thinner each session as the deadline of April 30, is drawing near.

Fears that the showdown may be bigger than being considered by many are keeping the leading investors who are in no mood to take even a calculated risk amid approaching uncertainty, says a leading broker.

Falling daily volumes speak of the investor perception about the developing situation and their will to stay clear until the dust settles down on the KSE horizon, he adds.

The board meetings of Fauji Fertiliser, Shell Pakistan, the PSO, the PTCL and some other leading companies including the Hub-Power were held during the week, which have evoked a good bit of interest in their shares followed by higher interim and quarterly earnings. The Hub-Power profit of Rs1.82 billion for the first quarter was in line with the market perceptions.

Their earnings were also in line with the market perceptions but they failed to prove themselves as a market factor owing to pre-referendum uncertainty and investors’ reluctance to hold long positions until the result of the referendum was out.

The PTCL after-tax profit rose by 6.4 per ce