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| November 14, 2005 | Monday | Shawwal 11, 1426 |
KSE-100 index maintains an upward drive
THE stocks, despite profit-taking during the last week, maintained an upward drive to the index level of 9,000 points as the follow-support in cement, bank and energy remained unsatisfied which was aided by an attractive bait of capital gains.
The underlying sentiment in part was helped by the PTCL reports in the backdrop of Dubai talks between the Pakistani and the Etisalat officials. However, there was no official word on the issue till the end of the week.
On the other hand, a sharp post-holiday increase in the index and market capital demonstrated that the leading investors had taken a cue of a consensus reached between the two for ending the impasse on the PTCL issue.
The market’s future trend was expected to be guided by the official words which may prove a double-edged weapon by both flaring up the prices and temporarily collapsing the market, dealers said.
All eyes, therefore, were focussed on the telecom shares as punters and bargain-hunters pushed its value from the last week’s low of Rs57 to around Rs64 amid talks of an imminent deal on the completion of the transaction.
It took along with it the entire market as speculative traders made it look as if the deal was around the corner and the current levels were best for the future capital gains.
The oil and bank shares followed by the cement sector strengthened the underlying sentiment on renewed buying. The PSO, the Pakistan Petroleum, the Pakistan Oilfields, the OGDC followed by the MCB, the National Bank and some blue chips on other counters also contributed to the market upturn.
Although, the KSE 100-share index failed to sustain the level of 8,800 points on late selling, the market capital stood well above the coveted figure of Rs2,500 billion as the heavily-capitalized shares rose sharply.
There was a loud whispering that the Pakistan side had accepted some demands of the Etisalat management which according to some rumours may help in paving the way for a final deal.
Some leading analysts had warned the genuine investors and day traders against jumping into hasty conclusions. They were advised to play safe until an official word on the issue was made public.
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It finally finished with a fresh gain of 358 points or 4.25 per cent at 8,793.93, as compared to 8,436.54. The highest and the lowest were touched at 8,840.26 and 8,693.54, respectively.
The market talk that the visiting Privatisation Commission delegation led by Dr Hafeez Shaikh had agreed to some requests, including another extension in the final payment period and the downsizing of staff by Etisalat, provided the much needed push to an already buoyant market eyeing the completion of deal.
All roads led to the PTCL amid rumours that the major irritants had been removed and the deal would be completed after much give-and-take between the two. In the post-holiday trading, the PTCL share had risen to Rs64 from Rs57.
But the leading analysts had warned the day traders and small investors to keep out and refrain from becoming a party to the speculative fight between the bulls and bears until official announcement.
The PTCL share recovered another Rs2.30 at Rs63.90 on a massive volume of 105 million shares followed by active buying in oil, notably the OGDC, the Pakistan Petroleum, the Pakistan Oilfields and few banks such as the MCB and the NBP.
The PTCL rumours proved a double-edged weapon for the market during the last about three months, analysts said adding, in-between many made millions while some received massive battering.
The market was never that volatile as it was in the last couple of months after the PTCL deal had assumed the role of a trendsetter amid negative and positive news.
The Siemens Pakistan and the National Refinery were leading among the gainers, followed by the Pakistan Refinery, the Attock Refinery, the Attock Petroleum, the Aventis, the Colgate Pakistan, the Indus Motors, Thal, the BOC Pakistan and many others after ending with smart gains.
Losers were led by the Shell Pakistan, the PSO, the Berger Paints, the Pakistan Cables, the Wyeth Pakistan, the Unilever Pakistan, the Mustehkam Cement, the AKD Capital and some others.
FORWARD COUNTER: Speculative issues on the forward counter showed mixed trend amid alternate bouts of buying and selling. The PTCL, the D.G. Khan Cement, the National Bank and some others managed to finish with good gains, while the MCB, the Nishat Mills, the PSO, the Shell Pakistan, the Pakistan Oilfields and the PPL fell below their levels.—Muhammad Aslam
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