KARACHI, June 16: Stocks on Thursday again turned lower as investors appear to be in no mood to make fresh commitments until the standoff on the PTCL front ends and all the union factions unanimously call off the strike.

The hallmark of entire trading appears to be to realize quick gains as most of the leading brokers and general investors buy at the dips and sell at the rise and try to get out of the market the same day.

What seems to have added to the prevailing uncertainty was ARD chief’s warning to prospective PTCL bidders to keep off the bidding as the opposition would cancel it when it came into power.

The market’s highly volatile performance and the prevailing uncertainty may well be gauged from the fact that the KSE 100-share index touched the day’s highest and the lowest at 7,536.25 and 7,304.47 respectively before finishing above the day’s low at 7,330.91, off 157.82 points or 2.11 per cent.

All the leading base shares including the PTCL, Pakistan Petroleum, the PSO, the OGDC, and Pakistan Oilfields came in for active selling at the overnight inflated levels and finished with sharp gains.

“The market sinks and rises in response to negative and positive news from the PTCL front and until the standoff ends on June 18, the bidding date, it will continue to move on a slippery path,” brokers said.

Although the government wooed some other factions of the striking PTCL union and vowed to maintain the bidding date of June 18, it is not clear whether all the short-listed companies will opt for bidding.

Mobile Telecommunication Company of Kuwait has already announced that it has withdrawn from the bidding process on June 18.

Analysts said there was no word on the reference price so far and with only one day to go before the final date, the entire issue has attained wider dimensions amid apprehension of further extension in the bidding date.

Minus signs dominated the list under the lead of Pakistan Petroleum and PSO, which fell by Rs8.25 and Rs10.80 at Rs208 and Rs370, followed by Island Textiles, Javed Omer, Treet Corporation, National Refinery, BOC Pakistan, Suzuki Motors, Muree Brewery and Dawood Lawrence, off Rs3.85 to Rs5.95.

Lakson Tobacco and Mari Gas were leading among the gainers, up Rs12 and Rs8.95 at Rs258 and Rs188.30. They were followed by Attock Petroleum, Pakistan Engineering, Zulfiqar Industries, Artistic Denim, and Aventis, which posted gains ranging from Rs3.70 to Rs7.

Trading volume rose modestly to 223m shares from the previous 206m shares as losers forced a strong lead over the gainers at 196 to 82, with 30 shares holding on to the last levels.

PTCL came in for fresh selling, off Rs2.90 at Rs67 on 83m shares followed by National Bank, lower Rs1.45 at Rs101.50 on 27m shares, OGDC, off Rs3.90 at Rs101.70 also on 27m shares, Pakistan Petroleum, lower by Rs8.25 at Rs208.90 on 18m shares, Kot Addu Power, up 55 paisa at Rs39.15 on 13m shares, PSO, off Rs10.80 at Rs370 on 10m shares and Pakistan Oilfields, easy 25 paisa at Rs264 on 8m shares.

Other actives were led by PIAC, lower 25 paisa on 4m shares, DG Khan Cement, easy 50 paisa also on 4m shares, and MCB, off Rs1.55 on 3m shares.

FORWARD COUNTER: PTCL came in for heavy battering on this counter as well and fell by Rs2.65 at Rs67.55 on 24m shares followed by PPL, off Rs7.35 at Rs210.50 on 21m shares, OGDC, lower Rs3.05 at Rs102.10 on 18m shares, PSO, off Rs11 at Rs372 on 8m shares and National Bank, lower Rs1.50 at Rs102.30 on 3m shares.