January 14, 2007	Sunday	Zilhaj 23, 1427

KARACHI, Jan 13: The CFS rate on the Karachi stock market last week suffered a modest decline owing to early terribly dull activity in the absence of strong demand for funds from investors.

It fell to 14.1 per cent on last working session of the week from the previous 15 per cent, but is expected to rise again, followed by some positive developments which could boost stock trading by the next week.

But on the other hand, investment under CFS swelled to about Rs39 billion, well above the ceiling as compared to Rs35 billion a week earlier, a leading stock analyst Khurram Schehzad said.

The extension of tax exemption on capital gains and postponement of stamp duty on share transfers seems to have given the needed push to stock trading, and in turn more demand for funds. The step is expected to continue to guide the future CFS market, he added.

The investment in futures also showed a modest rise at Rs7.4 billion as investors sought fresh funds as activity picked at the weekend session. Future spreads also rose to 8.27 per cent from the previous week’s 4.4 per cent.