October 19, 2002	Saturday	Sha'aban 12, 1423

KARACHI, Oct 18: The KSE 100-share index on Friday firmly settled above the barrier of 2,100 points followed by heavy foreign buying in pivotals under the lead of PSO, apparently allaying fears of political standoff in the backdrop of national elections.

The advent of massive foreign buying in PSO could well prove one of the major sustaining factors above the 2,100 index level provided it gains in stature after the formations of elected governments and transfer of power.

The KSE 100-share index posted a fresh gain of 18.94 points at 2,111.73 as compared to previous 2,092.79, lifting the market capitalization by Rs3 billion to a record high of Rs482 billion. Leading analysts are now eyeing the figure of 2,300 points if all went well with post-election scenario and easing of tension with India after the troops pullout.

“About 100m shares of PSO has been lifted during the last four sessions by some foreign buyers including some strategic investors apparently in a bid to corner its floating stock, notably on the forward counter well before its sell-off date”, a leading stock analyst says.

“The advent of foreign buying is a good sign”, he says “as it reinforces the investor perceptions about handsome capital gains in no time”.

The perception that tension with India will eventually ease after the progressive pullout of the troops on both sides of the borders triggered renewed buying on selected counters.

But what enthused investors most was reports that the Indian prime minister is expected to attend Saarc meeting in Islamabad and it could well mean a fresh round of parleys to sort out the bilateral problems.

On the local front, inter-party talks to form the coalition governments both at the centre and the provinces are well in advance stage and the next week may see a final lineage of the contenders.

“The fears in regard to formation of governments are gradually fading as the pro- and anti-government contenders have taken rigid positions on certain national issues, which in the final analysis will lead to power corridors in Islamabad”, most brokers feel.

Engro Chemical board meeting next week (on Oct 22), has generated a lot of buying interest in the fertilizer shares, which have assumed the role of trend-setters along with the energy scrips.

PSO, Hub-Power, National Bank, Fauji Fertilizer, Engro Chemicals and most of the leading MNCs remained in active demand and ended further higher.

The largest gains of Rs8.50, Rs31 and Rs70.10 were noted in PSO, Wyeth Pakistan and Pakistan Reinsurance Company. Other good gainers were led by Fazal Textiles, Pakistan Refinery, Clover Pakistan, Glaxo-Wellcome and some others, which rose by Rs2.80 to Rs3.50.

Losses on the other hand were mostly fractional barring Shafiq Textiles, Pakistan Tobacco, Unilever Pakistan, Merit Packaging, Siemens Pakistan and Nestle MilkPak, falling by Rs1.05 to Rs5 on renewed selling. Trading volume fell to 129m shares from the previous 212m shares but gainers maintained a fair lead over the losers at 204 to 74, with 58 shares holding on to the last levels.

Hub-Power topped the list of most actives, up 15 paisa at Rs24.80 on 19m shares followed by Engro Chemical, higher by Rs1.25 at Rs67.60 on 19m shares, FFC-Jordan Fertilizer, firm by 10 paisa at Rs6.95 on 11m shares, PTCL, steady by 15 paisa at Rs20.15 also on 11m shares and Sui Northern, up by 25 paisa at Rs16.20 on 10m shares.

Other actives were led by National Bank, steady five paisa on 7m shares, MCB, firm by five paisa on 4.400m shares, ICP SEMF, up by 65 paisa on 3.378m shares, Chakwal Cement, higher by 20 paisa on 3.331m shares and Fauji Fertilizer, up by 15 paisa on 2.714m shares.

FORWARD COUNTER: Bulk of the support again remained confined to PSO, up by Rs6.75 on 42m shares followed by Hub-Power, higher by 15 paisa at Rs24.70 on 2.541m shares, PTCL, up by 20 paisa at Rs20.15 on 1.559m shares and Engro Chemical, up Rs1.10 at Rs67.70 on 1.516m shares.

DEFAULTER COMPANIES: Brisk trading was again witnessed on this counter as a section of investors indulged in alternate bouts of buying and selling amid small margins of profit. Shares of 18 companies were traded under the lead of Amazai Textiles, sharply higher by 90 paisa at Rs1.60 on 0.211m shares.

Other actives were led by Metropolitan Steel, higher by Rs1.50 at Rs7.35 on 43,000 shares and Suzuki Motorcycle, lower 25 paisa at Rs7.50 on 25,000 shares. Some others were also actively traded.