April 2, 2006	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 3, 1427

KARACHI, April 1: The weighted average CFS rates on the Karachi Stock Exchange last week showed a modest fall of 20 basis points, below the cap of 18 per cent after remaining static around this level for the last couple of weeks, analysts said. But on the other hand, CFS rates on the Lahore Stock Exchange rose sharply to 18.1 per cent from the previous 16.3 per cent, reflecting a relative increase in demand for funds, they said.

The stock future spread during the week steadily rose to 18.4 per cent from the opening level of 17.8 per cent, signalling that investors are taking long positions on the forward counter, they said.

The open market interest shrank to Rs10.62bn from Rs14.41bn, showing a rollover of positions totalling Rs3.78bn to the April settlements. The balance is expected to be settled in next Wednesday’s clearing.

The notable feature of the week was a sharp fall in the CFS volume in OGDC as some investors have unloaded long positions on reports about the floating of its Global Depository Receipts (GDR) on the world markets in July.