September 17, 2006	Sunday	Sha'aban 23, 1427

KARACHI, Sept 16: CFS rates on the Karachi Stock Exchange last week remained pegged around the previous level of 13.47 per cent well below the cap of 18 per cent as demand for fresh funds in a volatile share market failed to pick up.

Analysts said investors mostly played safe as no one among them is inclined to take risk amid fears of losses in case share values fall further.

However, the CFS investment totalled Rs23.7, close to the cap figure of Rs25 billion, reflecting a section of investors borrowed fresh funds apparently to invest in some of the risk-free equities, they added.

“The proposed ban on in-house financing and an increase in CFS limit to Rs55 billion from Oct 2 is expected to significantly boost CFS investment,” they said.

Open interest on the future counters showed modest rise at Rs8.37 billion as compared to Rs8.10 billion a week earlier, while average spreads were quoted at 849 per cent as compared to last week’s 6.68 per cent.