KARACHI, May 7: Stocks on Wednesday gave another highly erratic performance as late near-panic selling denied the KSE index to achieve the coveted level of 3,000 just by nine points, although at one stage it appeared that all is set to create a new trading history. It finished lower by 20.21 at 2,952.59.

The notable feature of the day’s trading was that shares of defaulter companies, mostly ruling sharply below their face values again came in for strong buying and finished higher followed by reports that the government has decided to revive the sick units.

On the ready counter, bears were in no mood to be overwhelmed that easily and without their consent and blocked the way for an all-time record after indulging in selling in leading base shares, notably PTCL, Hub-Power and PSO.

“I don’t think bears will have the stamina or the money to forestall the forward thrust of the index to its next target,” says an analysts. “Inevitable is bound to happen not in a very distant future.”

The impact of positive developments on the Indo-Pak relations was well-reflected in the early upward drive of the KSE 100-share index, which at one stage soared to 2,991.32, only nine points short of the widely speculated level of 3,000.

But the PSO-driven rally failed to see through the session as the index finally fell to finish around 2,952.59 points on late near-panic selling in most of the base shares. The net fall over the day being 20.21 points.

Although the day’s peak level could not be sustained, it is billed as its career-best index level ever touched in its trading history for the last about three decades.

The current uneven performance of the market reflects a tussle between the bulls and bears about the future perceptions about the stock trading, notably after a possible thaw in Indo-Pakistan relations and easing of the tensions.

“The battle of wits pertains on whether the index level should be touched,” analysts said adding “the bulls intend to cross the rubicon, while bears are not.”

The odds appear to be against the latter. If India responds positively to the Pakistani peace overtures and the local political leaders achieve a breakthrough on the LFO issues, bears could be thoroughly beaten.

The progressive fall in daily volumes indicates that investors are not sure about the Indian reaction to the Pakistan proposals leading to peace and once they found a cue, the buying euphoria could get a new life beyond the 3,000 points index level.

Floor brokers said investors are also eying an early date for the sell-off controlling shares of PSO, which could be an added stimulant together with the easing of tension with India.

Treet Corporation and Wyeth Pakistan were leading among the gainers, up Rs18.10 and Rs34 followed by Star Textiles, Dawood Cotton, Al-Abid Silk, Otsuka Pakistan, Security Papers, Nestle MilkPak, Mitchell’s Farms, National Foods, Ghani Glass and Siemens Pakistan, which posted gains ranging from Rs2 to Rs5.

Parke-Davis and Unilever Pakistan were leading among the losers, off Rs4.25 and Rs9.50 respectively. Others fell modestly barring Shell Pakistan, Crescent Steel, International Industries, Fauji Fertilizer, Packages, 4th ICP and Dawood Hercules, lower by Rs1.50 to Rs3.

Trading volume fell further to 210m shares from the previous 216m shares but gainers maintained a fair lead over the losers at 193 to 157, with 60 shares holding on to the last levels.

The most active list was topped by the PTCL, easy by 35 paisa at Rs25.05 on 28m shares, followed by Hub-Power, off 40 paisa at Rs34.85 on 23m shares, Sui Northern Gas, lower 35 paisa at Rs28.80 on 21m shares, Southern Electric, up 70 paisa at Rs15.50 on 16m shares, PSO, off 45 paisa at Rs212.75 after hitting the day’s peak level of Rs216.45 also on 16m shares and D.G. Khan Cement, off 35 paisa at Rs15.80 on 14m shares.

Other actives were led by Dewan Motors, up Rs1.15 on 13m shares, Bosicor Pakistan, easy five paisa on 7m shares, Lucky Cement, lower 15 paisa on 6m shares and Nishat Mills, up 40 paisa also on 6m shares.

FORWARD COUNTER: Speculative issues on the other hand showed easy trend as leading shares came in for active profit-selling. Hub-Power fell by 35 paisa at Rs34.95 on 8m shares, followed by PTCL, easy 30 paisa at Rs25.15 on 6m shares, PSO, lower 25 paisa at Rs213.25 also on 6m shares, Sui Northern, off 35 paisa at Rs28.75 on 4m shares and Pak PTA, easy 20 paisa at Rs9.10 on 1.061m shares.