February 01, 2008	Friday	Muharram 22, 1429

KARACHI, Jan 31: The Karachi share market on Thursday turned in an improved performance followed by stray short-covering purchases in some of the leading base shares aided by higher dividend announcements but financial support was modest ahead of central bank’s monetary policy. The KSE 100-share index was up by 27 points at 14,017.01.

A final cash dividend of 50 per cent, an interim of the same amount already paid plus bonus of 25 per cent by Clariant Pakistan and final cash of 35 per cent by Fauji Fertiliser, in addition to interims of 75 per cent were on the higher side of the analyst predictions and stabilised the market. Second interim of 10 per cent by Crescent Steel was also in line with the market perceptions.

The KSE 100-share index again rose above the barrier of 14,000 at 14,017.01, up 26.90 points as compared to previous 13,990.11 points. The free float 30-share also rose by 32.91 points at 16,695.92.

Apart from Engro Pakistan, some other leading base shares, which contributed to the increase, were Arif Habib Ltd, Lucky Cement, and Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim.

There is a loud whispering in the market that a good part of liquid funds is out flowing either to the gold market or to foreign safe havens owing to prevailing uncertainty, some brokers said.

That is perhaps why bulk of the two-way activity remains confined to low-priced shares where the financial risks are lower in case the market takes a snap reversal, they said adding Bosicor Pakistan, NIB Bank and TRG Pakistan are notable among them.But the trading volume further shrank to 158m shares from the previous 181m shares, reflecting the fading buying interest both from the leading investors and the financial institutions.

Any turnover figure below 200m shares signals that investors prefer to play safe rather than indulging in speculative buying despite the fact that upcoming payouts are said to be fairly attractive, analysts said.

“There may be occasional flutters here and there aided by higher corporate reports but the possibility of a major breakthrough at this stage appears to be a remote possibility”, they said.

Leading gainers were led by Rafhan Maize and Nestle Pakistan, which posted gains ranging from Rs30 to 63.90. They were followed by Siemens Pakistan, Arif Habib Ltd, BOC Pakistan, Clariant Pakistan after higher dividend and bonus shares, Shell Gas, National Foods, AKD Capital, JS Global and Bata Pakistan, which were marked up by Rs9 to 26.60.

Pakistan Services and Lakson Tobacco were leading among the losers, off by Rs20 and 24. Others showed modest decline under the lead of Indus Motors, Pakistan Cable, Noon Pakistan, and Clover Pakistan, off by Rs4.95 to 8.

Trading volume fell to 158m shares from the previous 181m shares but gainers held a strong lead over the losers at 195 to 136, with 45 shares holding on to the last levels.

Engro Chemical topped the list of actives, sharply higher by Rs7.60 at Rs292.20 on 17m shares followed by Bosicor Pakistan, steady by 15 paisa at Rs21.75 on 16m shares, Arif Habib Securities, unchanged at Rs177 on 8m shares, Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim, firm by 10 paisa at Rs43.35 on 7m shares, Arif Habib Ltd, higher by Rs14.60 on 5m shares, Lucky Cement, up 1.55 at Rs116.55 also on 5m shares and NIB Bank, lower by 10 paisa at Rs22.70 on 4m shares.

Azgard Nine followed them, up by Rs1.65 at Rs54.40 on 7m shares, Pervez Ahmed Securities, up Rs1.35 at Rs58.85 on 4m shares and Sitara Peroxide, higher by Rs2.85 at Rs60.75 on 4m shares.

FORWARD COUNTER: Engro Chemical also topped the list of actives on the cleared list and was marked up by Rs7.85 at Rs292.85 on 6m shares followed by Arif Habib Bank, steady by 30 paisa at Rs30.50 on 4m shares and Lucky Cement, up by Rs1.15 at Rs.117 on 2m shares.

MCB followed them, firm by 25 paisa at Rs388.75 on 1m shares and Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim, steady by 25 paisa at Rs43.40 also on 1m shares.

DEFAULTER COS: Zeal Pak Cement came in for active support and rose by 15 paisa at Rs4.45 on 1.325m shares followed by Norrie Textiles, easy five paisa at Rs2.05 on 0.902m shares and Unity Modaraba, lower also by five paisa at Rs.1.25 on 0.460m shares.Pangrio Sugar rose by 60 paisa at Rs28 on 0.196m shares, Redco Textiles, up by 40 paisa at Rs3.40 on 0.386m shares and Japan Power, firm five paisa at Rs7.05 on 0.134m shares.

Jan 31,2008

Market at a glance

TONE:steady,total listed 651,actives 376,inactives 275,plus 195,minus 136,unc 45

KSE 30-SHARE INDEX:previous 16,663.01,Thursday’s 16,695.92,plus 32.91 points

KSE 100-SHARE INDEX;previous 13,990.11,Thursday’s 14,017.01,plus 26.90 points

MARKET CAPITAL;previous Rs.4,287.874bn,Thursday’s 4,297.493,plus 9.619bn

TOP TEN:gainers Nestle Pakistan Rs.63.90,Rafhan Maize 30.00,Bata Pakistan 26.60,JS Global 22.05,AKD Capital 20.15.

LOSERS:Lakson Tobacco Rs.24.00,Pakistan Services 20.00,Clover Pakistan 8.00,Pakistan Cables 6.15,Indus Motors 5.10.

TOTAL VOLUME158.372m shares

VOLUME LEADERS:Engro Chemical16.686m,Bosicor Pakistan 15.158m,Arif Habib Securities 8.294m,Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim 7.390,Azgard Nine 7.313m shares.