KARACHI, Dec 22: Share market on Friday resisted larger decline followed by reports of revival of foreign support on the oil sector but the underlying sentiment remained terribly bearish owing to the weakness of banking shares.

The last week of the eventful year could be very crucial for the future direction of the market as investors have to decide whether or not to go along with the positive factors despite the presence of some irritants, analysts said.

Stocks, however, finished the weekend session on an easy note but unlike the previous session there were buyers at the dips on selected counters and in the process larger fall was averted.

The KSE 100-share index posted a fresh fall of 29.12 points at 9,893.99 points as compared to previous 9,923.11 points a day earlier. The KSE 30-share index also fell by 38.19 points at 12,277.38 points.

Owing to weekend considerations, there were, however, no signs of year-end buying as both leading investors and financial institutions kept to the sidelines awaiting apparently the end of the rollover week, brokers said.“Investor technical worries are there, which continued to take their toll, the important factor behind the current sell-off was said to be unloading of long positions by some of the leading foreign investors on the oil and banking counters,” a leading stock analyst Ahsan Mehanti said, adding “while local investors are fighting a losing battle on over-leveraged positions selling by foreign funds has aggravated the situation”.

The market’s current worries may be over by early new year as regulators are seized with the problems affecting the share trading and clear policy line will be in place to restore the badly shaken general investor confidence in the market, another analyst Ashraf Zakria predicts.

“But those who have the funds and the will to take financial risks should be ready to catch bull from the horns keeping in view massive capital gains where they choose to invest,” analyst Faisal A. Rajabali said.

Clear lines of action are already clearly drawn between the leading bulls and bears and now is the turn of the former to strike back and to be counted the new year winner, he added.

Leading gainers were led by Shaheen Insurance, National Refinery, IGI Insurance, Clover Pakistan, Packages and Thal Industries, which posted gains ranging from Rs4.75 to Rs6.

But the largest gains of Rs9.80, Rs11, Rs20.25 and Rs25 were noted in Arif Habib Securities, EFU Life, Colgate Pakistan and Unilever Pakistan on active support.

Losers were led by National Bank, Attock Petroleum, Gatron Industries, Grays of Cambridge and Mirpurkhas Sugar, off by Rs4.05 to Rs6. Others fell modestly

Trading volume rose to 151m shares from the previous 102m shares but losers maintained a strong lead over the gainers at 165 to 86, with 38 shares holding on to the last levels.

OGDC led the list of actives on modest support and was quoted higher by five paisa at Rs115.05 on 17m shares, followed by PTCL, higher by 80 paisa at Rs42.90 on 16m shares, National Bank, off Rs5.25 at Rs219.25 on 13m shares, Pakistan Petroleum, easy by 50 paisa at Rs229.50 on 12m shares, Pakistan Oilfields, up by Rs2 at Rs246.10 on 9m shares, MCB, lower by Rs1.55 at Rs233 also on 9m shares and PICIC, off Rs1.90 at Rs60.80 on 6m shares.

Other actives were led by Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim, up by 50 paisa on 6m shares, D.G. Khan Cement, off Rs2 on 5m shares and Bank Alfalah, lower by 90 paisa also on 5m shares.

FORWARD COUNTER: National Bank came in for renewed selling and suffered a fresh fall of Rs4.55 at Rs222.50 on 10m shares, followed by OGDC, up by 55 paisa at Rs116.75 on 8m shares and MCB, easy by Rs2.98 at Rs234.50 on 7m shares.