KARACHI, Feb 15: Leading shares on Tuesday rose further higher on active follow-up support on selected counters but unlike the previous sessions the broader market was a bit weak amid active profit-selling. The KSE 100-share index rose by 61 points at 7,403.

The KSE 100-share index, however, maintained its winning streak and finally crossed the next barrier of 7,400 as leading base shares tended further higher amid a briskly traded session.

After having tested the index level of 7,401.00 in the morning session, the KSE 100-share index reacted from this peak level on mid-session selling but managed to finish above the coveted level on the strength of PSO and PTCL.

The final closing was around 7,402.80 as compared to 7,341.69 a day earlier, the net rise over the day being 61.11 points. PTCL, another index heavy weight, picked up the thread where OGDC has left and was up by Rs1.65, while OGDC passed through a consolidation phase. Market capital also added another Rs15.189bn to the previous total to Rs2,047.311bn.

"Viewed in the backdrop of Monday's market performance, the index level of 8,000 now looks not that ambitious", one analyst said "bulls are literally out to push it up to that level at least for the near-term".

The trick of the speculative game is that to concentrate on the index heavy weights and keep it rolling sometimes slowly and sometimes with a bang, never allowing bears to have a say in the market affairs.

"A few points could be chipped off from the rising index, but it appears pretty difficult to pull it down from the current levels as market fundamentals continue to be bullish both in terms of positive announcements from the corporate sector and the investor perceptions about the future capital gains", most brokers believe.

An interesting feature was that a major shift in investor perception was witnessed as they rolled positions, of course after taking profits, to the low-priced issues, notably Fauji Cement, PPTA and some others, which posted sharp gains. But PTCL and PSO were among the star performers, while the former turned out a massive turnover the latter finished with smart gain of Rs17.70. The recent trend-setter, OGDC, attracted a lot of selling at the higher level.

Although minus signs dominated the list, leading shares managed to put on fresh gains under the lead of Rafhan Best foods, up by Rs22.80 followed by PICIC Growth Fund, Dewan Textiles, IGI, Nishat Chunian, Mehmood Textiles, Nishat Mills, Premier Sugar, Attock Refinery, Pakistan Oilfields, Pakistan Engineering, Allawasaya Textiles and PNSC, up by Rs4 to Rs7.85.

Losers were led by Rafhan Maize, off Rs32.50 followed by AKD Securities, lower Rs27.30. Other leading losers included Shafiq Textiles, Gul Ahmed Textiles, Artistic Denim, Pakistan Paper sack, Treet Corporation and Atlas Honda, off Rs4 to Rs8.

Trading volume rose to 728m shares from the previous 638m shares thanks to PTCL, which was massively traded, up by Rs1.65 at Rs65.85 on 156m shares. Other actives were led by PSO, sharply higher by Rs17.70 at Rs359.75 on 54m shares, Fauji Cement, higher one rupee at Rs19.25 on 47m shares, D.G.Khan Cement, easy by 65 paisa at Rs68.15 on 36m shares and OGDC, lower 40 paisa at Rs89.75 on 36m shares.

Other actives included Bank of Punjab, up by Rs3.15 on 34m shares, Lucky Cement, higher by Rs1.50 also on 34m shares, Nishat Mills, higher by Rs5.40 on 30m shares, MCB, lower 25 paisa on 28m shares and Sui Southern Gas, up by 55 paisa on 27m shares.

FORWARD COUNTER: PPL remained in strong demand and rose by another Rs2.30 at Rs165.85 on 53m shares followed by PTCL, up by Rs1.55 at Rs65.85 on 43m shares, PSO, sharply higher ahead of its board meeting, higher by Rs16.95 at Rs360.70 on 17m shares. OGDC fell by 25 paisa at Rs90.25 on 11m shares, while others were quoted modestly higher.