THE share market last week remained in a terribly bad mood haunted partly by liquidity problems and partly by the absence of investors despite some positive developments on the international political front, mainly the victory of Barack Obama in the US presidential elections.

Analysts said it was too early to predict anything about any aid package from the new set up in the US led by President-elect Obama to bail out Pakistan from the current economic and financial problems. But some said strategic importance of the country and its

sustained war on terror

may benefit it after he settles down.

News from the international aid front in the backdrop of President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to Saudi Arabia and supply of oil on deferred payments were encouraging but failed to motivate investors to make fresh commitments and kept them away.

The bad news of the week was that the single-session turnover figure fell to a record low of only 78,500 shares as compared to so far all-time record high of 1.122 billion shares established some four years back.

The dwindling volume eloquently speaks of the investors’ mood and plight of the country’s premier capital market, which had already oscillated between the two extremes of rise and fall. But what next nobody could precisely predict at this stage.

Meanwhile, off-the-floor selling assumed an alarming proportion where the discount rates touched 30 per cent from the previous week’s 15 to 20 per cent.

The steep rise in discount rates showed that those who still hold long unsold positions were getting out of the market at huge losses and in a way it reflected the post-floor behaviour of the market.

Trading, therefore, resumed on an optimistic note amid hopes that the Rs20 billion market support fund may be active during the next couple of sessions preceding the removal of floor under the KSE 100-share index.

A section of investors may still be skeptical about the advent of fund, the improvement in buying both in tune and turnover of the market reflected that the message had already reached the relevant quarters, said a leading analyst Ahsan Mehanti

He said the current week could well prove crucial for the future market trend as investors expected some important decisions leading to the market’s recovery after over two months of extreme sluggishness.

Analyst Hasnain Asghar Ali said the market could suffer fresh pruning ranging from 15 to 20 per cent in line with the off-the-floor transactions after the removal of floor followed by a sustained run-up backed by positive developments on the foreign aid front and one per cent cut in bank cash reserve requirements.

For the first time after about three weeks’ status quo the KSE 100-share index showed signs of activity and ended slightly below the session’s high of 9,184.70 at 9,183.14, up 0.26 points as some of the leading base shares ended sharply higher under the lead of Siemens Pakistan.

Trading volume showed either-way movement after having hit all-time low of 0.111m shares last week because of conflicting reports about the removal of floor and operations of the newly set up market support fund.

Analyst Tabish H. Rajabali said Saudi oil on deferred payments was also considered a positive development on the economic front, which would ease pressure on foreign debt payments.

But he said investors would keenly watch post-US presidential election political scenario, notably the foreign policy statement of the President elect, mainly against terrorism.

Final cash dividend at the rate of 600 per cent, by Siemens Pakistan, which rose together with an interim of 300 per cent to 900 per cent was well received in the market as was reflected by a sharp rise of Rs8.57 in its share value at Rs1,218.57. The basic and diluted earning per share fell to Rs203.60 from the previous Rs300.87.

An interim cash dividend of 40 per cent by Eye Television Network was also on the higher side of the market expectations and was well-received.

Forward counter: Trading on this counter remained suspended on technical grounds and as a result, no shares came in for trading throughout the last week.—Muhammad Aslam