March 11, 2006	Saturday	Safar 10, 1427

KARACHI, March 10: Stocks on Friday came in for renewed selling under the lead of blue chips as a section of leading investors including institutional traders continued to take profits at the higher levels. The KSE index shed 330 points at 10,474.20 points, eroding Rs86.00bn from the market capital at Rs2,995.00bn.

The panic caused by the early week market crash again dominated the trading as the weekend session saw fresh price erosions on the overvalued counters amid falling ready demand. Leading bulls are keeping to the sidelines allowing prices to fall to their fair values and then to resume covering purchases.

Much of the profit-selling was confined to the still overvalued shares in the oil, bank and cement sectors followed by some IT issues under the lead of Callmate Telips, which has dropped by Rs45 from Rs115 to Rs70 during the last couple of sessions on controversy over accounting standards.

The KSE 100-share index, therefore, suffered a fresh large fall and ended lower at 10,474.20, off 329.79 points or 3.05 per cent as compared to 10,803.99 a day earlier, reflecting the weakness of leading base shares. However, the benchmark of 10,000 points was judiciously held, which could well prove a launching pad to sustained recovery by the next week.

During the terribly bad week, it lost 941 points or 10 per cent, eroding Rs255.335 billion from the market capital at Rs2,995.00 billion.

Fresh heavy selling in the leading base shares, notably OGDC, National Bank, MCB Bank, Pakistan Petroleum drove the index sharply lower from the early resistance amid accelerated selling on weekend.

Evidence of strong support at the dips on the blue chip counters reflected that the rumoured-feed correction was overdone and the market could resume its upward drive by the next week, brokers said.

But others said some of the speculators are still around and airing bearish view for stock trading telling investors “the best of the market is over as payouts news from the corporate sector have dried up”.

As a result, some of the genuine investors and short-term dealers are still in two minds and are keeping to the sidelines awaiting the market to take a definite turn, they said.

Some analysts are, however, worried over the post-Bush political scenario and developing situation on the Afghan front and Balochistan and are playing mostly safe keeping a strict balance between their ready and forward positions, some others said.

Minus signs again dominated the list, leading losers being Arif Habib Securities, National Bank, National Refinery, Attock Petroleum, Pakistan Petroleum, Pakistan Oilfields and Shell Pakistan, which suffered fall ranging from Rs11.85 to Rs31.65 followed by Adamjee Insurance, MCB Bank, D.G.Khan Cement, OGDC, off Rs6.80 to Rs8.70.

Some of the leading gainers were led by Siemens Pakistan and Unilever Pakistan, up by Rs54.50 and Rs75. Others gainers were led by EFU Insurance Life, Dawood Hercules, Bata Pakistan, Gillette Pakistan, Packages, Premier Sugar and Jahangir Siddiqui Capital Market Fund, up by Rs4.25 to Rs9.30.

Traded volume fell to 256m shares from the previous 312m shares as losers again forced a strong lead over the gainers at 202 to 88, with 33 shares holding on to the last levels.

National Bank again came in for heavy selling and led the list of actives, off Rs14.40 at Rs274.50 on 22m shares followed by PTCL, easy by Re1 at Rs62.50 on 21m shares, D.G.Khan Cement, off Rs7.20 at Rs137.30 on 20m shares, OGDC, lower Rs6.80 at Rs129.95 also on 20m shares, MCB Bank, off Rs8.70 at Rs246.00 on 15m shares and Bank of Punjab, lower Rs5.25 at Rs100.70 on 10m shares.

Other actives included Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim, off Rs2 on 14m shares, Lucky Cement, lower Rs5.35 on 13m shares, KESC, lower 25 paisa on 11m shares and PSO, unchanged also on 11m shares.

FORWARD COUNTER: Speculative issues on the forward counter also followed the lead of their counterparts in the ready section fell under the lead of National Bank, off Rs14.50 at Rs275.70 on 13m shares, D.G.Khan Cement, lower Rs7.25 at Rs138.45 on 8m shares and Pakistan Oilfields, off Rs28.10 at Rs534.60 on 7m shares.

Pakistan Petroleum followed them, off Rs13.20 at Rs250.85 on 7m shares and OGDC, lower by Rs6.60 at Rs130.65 on 7m shares. Others also fell where changed amid light turnover.

DEFAULTER COS: Prices on this counter also fell fractionally in the absence of demand amid slow trading. Quice Foods also came in for modest selling and fell by 15 paisa at Rs7.85 on 0.173m shares.

DIVIDEND: Meezan Bank, bonus shares at the rate of 16 per cent, Pakistan Gum Chemicals, cash 30 per cent, bonus shares 10 per cent.