September 26, 2006	Tuesday	Ramazan 2, 1427

KARACHI, Sept 25: Trading on the stock market on Monday resumed on a higher note but failed to sustain the early run-up on selling triggered by conflicting rumours, including coup linked to Sunday’s country-wide power breakdowns. The KSE 100-share index shed 54.60 points at 10,252.15 points.

But floor brokers attributed the sluggishness to the advent of the holy month of Ramazan, as investors generally play safe, some of them to reinforce their religious obligations.

They said the halt to the weekend rally was caused by the coup-rumours inspired selling, which kept the investors at their toes all the time but larger fall was averted.

The negative fallout of Sunday’s country-wide power breakdowns linked to a number of rumours, including the coup, has still its psychological impact on the investor mind and leading among them thought twice to go beyond certain specified buying limits, stock analysts said.

“The KSE 100-share index is expected to fluctuate between 10,300 on the higher side and 9,800 on the lower side during the holy month,” Faisal Abbas, a leading stock analyst, predicts.

The volume figure may shrink further but the range of the moving range of the index reflects that all is well, according to analysts’ predictions sans some massive negative development.

“Bank, oil and some other selected shares are still in a buying range, as most of them ensure attractive capital gains and could attract strong selective buying by the big ones, including financial institutions,” stock analyst Ahsan Mehanti hopes.However, he did not rule out the possibility of strong selective dividend-related rallies in between as higher payout are still to come from some of the leading companies, he added.

After rising 45 points earlier what the dealers called an extension of the weekend rally, the KSE 100-share index turned in a highly volatile movements and at one stage falling by 125 points.

But late short-covering in some of the pivotals in the banking and oil shares allowed it to finish with a modest fall of 54.60 points at 10,252.15 as compared to 10,306.75. The KSE 30-share index fell 106.75 points at 12,749.51 points.

The first day of Ramazan witnessed a steep fall in the trading volume as a big chunk of speculative buying was conspicuous by its absence, while some other psychological factors kept investors in two minds throughout the session.

Arif Habib Securities and Artistic Denim were leading among the gainers, up Rs7.65 and Rs16.69, respectively, followed by Shaheen Insurance, Pak Resource Insurance, Attock Refinery, Atlas Honda, Pak-Suzuki Motors and Dawood Hercules, which posted gains ranging from Rs3 to Rs6.30.

Losers were led by AKD Securities and Millat Tractors, off by Rs8.45 and Rs13, respectively. Other prominent losers included Faisal Spinning, Gadoon Textiles, PSO, Shell Pakistan, Pakistan Oilfields, Pakistan Petroleum, Bolan Casting, Pakistan Engineering, and HinoPak, off Rs3 to Rs5.90.

The trading volume fell to 143m shares from the previous 278m shares as losers held a strong lead over gainers at 156 to 84, with 23 shares holding on to the last levels.

National Bank led the list of actives, off Rs2.10 at Rs244.65 on 32m shares, followed by MCB, easy by 10 paisa at Rs257.90 on 29m shares, Bank Alfalah, higher by Rs1.95 at Rs44.40 on 15m shares, DG Khan Cement, off Rs3 at Rs94.25 on 6m shares, Pakistan Petroleum, lower Rs5.20 at Rs227.30 on 5m shares, PICIC, easy Rs1.25 at Rs68.45 also on 5m shares, and Saudi-Pak Bank, up one rupee at Rs16.55 on 4m shares.

Other actives were led by Nishat Mills, lower by Rs1.30 on 4m shares, Fauji Cement, easy 45 paisa on 3m shares and Bank of Punjab, easy 80 paisa also on 3m shares.

FORWARD COUNTER: National Bank also came in for active profit-selling at the higher rate on this counter and was marked down by Rs1.90 at Rs245 on 5m shares, followed by MCB, fractionally lower on 4m shares, and Alfalah Bank, higher by Rs1.85 at Rs44.50 on 2m shares.

Bank of Punjab followed them, up Rs2 at Rs248.90 on 2m shares, and Pakistan Petroleum, off Rs6.10 at Rs227.90 also on 2m shares.

DEFAULTER COS: Unity Modaraba was again actively traded both ways but finally fell by 10 paisa at 65 paisa on 2.155m shares, followed by Norrie Textiles, up 20 paisa at Rs3.55 on 893m shares.

DIVIDEND: Berger Paints, cash 40 per cent, bonus shares 20 per cent; Shezan International, cash 110 per cent; Security Leasing, 10 per cent on ordinary shares and 9.10 per cent preference shares; Suraj Cotton, 20 per cent; Unicap Modaraba and Mehran Modaraba, both nil.