KARACHI, July 2: Stocks finished the weekend session on a mixed note as leading shares managed to add to their overnight gains despite late selling at the inflated levels amid active two-way trading.

However, the day's best level could not be maintained, although there were buyers at each dip, notably in the cement and bank sectors. Stray selling in some of the leading base shares by jobbers and day traders allowed the index to finish the session with clipped gains.

The KSE 100-share index is heading for breaking the barrier of 5,400 possibly by early next week as it has the potential to rise by another 200 points prior to an overdue technical correction, they said. It tested the higher level of 5,380 earlier.

After early rising by 33 points, it finally finished around 5,352.97, up 5.25 points as compared to 5,347.72 a day earlier as all the leading base shares including OGDC, PTCL and Hub-Power ended further higher. In the morning session it touched the day's peak of 5,380 before weekend selling pushed it down.

Bulk of the support again remained confined to the cement, energy, notably gas shares followed by leading shares on the other counters including National Bank, Bank of Punjab and some insurance shares.

The perception that the sailing both on the political and economic front would smoothen during the coming months continued to inspire fresh covering purchases in an oversold market.

The reports that exports during the last financial year had crossed the $12 billion mark for the first time and tax collection is according to set targets reflects that all is well on economic front, analyst said. "But the post-budget rally, delayed by negative political events, is still to manifest itself," they said. "Ably supported by the incentives to the corporate sector it may be around shortly."

The next week could well prove a trend-setter in the backdrop of the market's oversold position and some analysts predict there could be many pleasant surprises both in term of volume and individual gains.

Javed Omer led the list of leading gainers, up Rs15 followed by Indus Motors, Diamond Industries, Quetta Textiles, Shell Pakistan, Jahangir Siddiqui Bank, PICIC and some others, which posted gains ranging from Rs3 to Rs5.50.

Losses on the other hand were mostly fractional barring IGI Insurance, Aventis and Unilever Pakistan, which were marked down by Rs13.50, Rs14.25 and Rs23 respectively on renewed selling.

They were followed by Al-Abbas Sugar, Noon Sugar, Crescent Steel and Sitara Chemicals, off Rs3 to Rs4.20. Trading volume showed a modest fall as compared to the overnight figure of 366m shares, at 364m shares, although losers forced a modest edge over the gainers at 148 to 131, with 47 shares holding on to the last levels.

The most active list was topped by DG Khan Cement on reports that its management is setting up Pakistan's largest cement plant in the central Punjab at a cost of Rs9 billion, up 75 paisa at Rs59.15 on 44m shares.

Other actives were led by OGDC, lower 40 paisa at Rs66 also on 44m shares, PTCL, up 10 paisa at Rs42.55 on 34m shares, Maple Leaf Cement, higher by 90 paisa at Rs40.65 on 28m shares and Bank of Punjab, up 95 paisa at Rs54.25 also on 28m shares.

They were followed by Lucky Cement, steady by 10 paisa on 23m shares, Fauji Cement, firm by 20 paisa on 17m shares, National Bank, up 30 paisa also on 17m shares, Saadi Cement, higher by 75 paisa on 12m shares and Hub-Power, steady by five paisa also on 12m shares.

CLEARED LIST: The current upward drive in OGDC was intercepted as a section of investors took profit in it, off 30 paisa at Rs66.10 on 6m shares followed by Bank Alfalah, steady five paisa at Rs54.75 on 5m shares and PTCL, firm by 10 paisa at Rs42.90 on 4m shares.