June 20, 2006	Tuesday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 23, 1427

KARACHI, June 19: Stocks on Monday resumed trading on a higher note and finished with an extended gain on an active follow-up support on the blue chip counters despite mid-session profit-selling at the inflated levels. The KSE index recovers another 3.5 per cent or 337 points at 9,944.

It was a judicious blend of both short-covering and year-end buying by the financial institutions aided by a good bit of bargain-hunting and speculative activity, although some of the analysts still fear another major reversal.

The KSE 100-share index on Monday maintained its upward drive followed by strong short-covering in the leading base shares aided by still attractively lower levels in the backdrop of last weeks massive fall.

The index finished with an extended gain of 336.72 points or 3.50 per cent, modestly below the session’s peak level of 9,968.23 at 9,943.83 as compared to 9,607.11 at the last weekend. During the last three sessions it recovered over 1,000 points or 10 per cent, signalling that it is now moving in the upward direction strictly following its bullish and bearish cycles. The market capital added another Rs85.585 billion to the total at Rs2,785.478bn.

But some doubt whether or not it would be able to sustain the level beyond the 10,000 level points in the coming weeks, while others claim it could rise to its pre-reaction level of well above 12,000 points apparently basing their perception on the rebound of other regional markets.

An idea of investor scramble for the leading shares, notably OGDC, Pakistan Petroleum, National Bank, PTCL, Pakistan Oilfields and some others, which together hold weight of about 60 per cent in the index, ended in the upper circuit breakers, well above the session’s ceiling rates.

“It was literally a number game of some big ones, including financial institutions, to outwit rivals but small investors scared of the previous week’s massive decline played mostly safe,” stock analyst Hasnain Asghar Ali said. “Most of them are still nervous fearing another major reversal.”

Previous weeks massive fall has knocked out a good number of big players, some of them are still licking their financial wounds sitting on the sidelines and so are some of the genuine investors and keeping themselves away from some more sessions apparently awaiting price stability.

“Oil and bank sectors at the current lower prices alone provide enough manoeuvring to any shrewd investor and that is a crucial point behind the market’s 10 per cent rise in just three sessions,” Faisal Abbas, another stock analyst, said, adding: “But there is no set rule that the market would always rise without technical correction.”

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti is, however, not precisely clear about the market’s snap sustained run-up and has some reservations about the bull-run but denies about the presence of any negative undercurrent, both psychological and real.

Top gainers, including Attock Petroleum and Pakistan Oilfields, up by Rs15.10 and Rs15.95, respectively, followed by MCB, National Bank, National Refinery, Attock Petroleum, PSO, Pakistan Petroleum, Wyeth Pakistan, Pakistan Cables, Dawood Hercules, Engro Chemical and Packages, which posted gains ranging from Rs8.55 to Rs15.10.

Losers were led by Unilever Pakistan and Arif Habib Securities, off by Rs24 and Rs26.60, respectively. Other notable losers included United Sugar, HinoPak Motors, Attock Refinery and Shell Gas, which fell by Rs5.35 to Rs14.30.

Trading volume, however, remained modest at 167m shares as compared to 162m shares at the last weekend but gainers held at strong lead over losers at 179 to 147, with 29 shares holding on to the last levels.

The most active list was topped was again topped by OGDC, sharply higher by Rs6.20 at Rs131.15 on 15m shares, Pakistan Petroleum, up Rs9.50 at Rs200.05 on 11m shares, Pak PTA, lower 25 paisa at Rs7 on 10m shares, PTCL, up Rs1.90 at Rs43.05 on 8m shares, Hub-Power, easy 30 paisa at Rs23.10 also on 8m shares, National Bank, higher by Rs9.15 at Rs192.95 on 8m shares, and Pakistan Oilfields, higher by Rs15.95 on 5m shares.

Other actives were led by DG Khan Cement, higher by Rs3.95 on 7m shares, Telecard, steady by five paisa on 6m shares and Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim, up Rs1.45 on 4m shares.

FORWARD COUNTER: OGDC was also actively traded on the cleared list and was quoted higher by Rs6.30 at Rs132.35 on 9m shares, followed by Pakistan Petroleum, higher by Rs9.55 at Rs201.25 on 5m shares, and National Bank, up Rs9.20 at Rs194.15 on 4m shares.

They were followed by DG Khan Cement, higher by Rs3.95 at Rs83.80 on 3m shares and Telecard, unchanged at Rs12.50 also on 3m shares. Others were modestly traded but on the higher side.

DEFAUTER COS: Crescent Standard Bank came in for stray selling at the higher levels and fell by 25 paisa at Rs5.10 on 0.127m shares, while all others were fractionally traded on light volumes but mostly at the higher rates.