Stocks, last week, failed in making a decisive breakthrough on the upside. Attempted rallies could not sustain the heat due to crumbling support from the financial investors.

Market remained direction less, passing through highly erratic price movements as bargain-hunters played on both sides of the fence without taking long positions on any counter.

Analysts predicted that the lean period was already out and the market was ripe for a grand technical rebound, which could manifest itself any time during the next week as by that time some inhibiting factors would be neutralized.

Reports of higher corporate earnings and record dividends by some leading banks and other companies failed to enthuse the investors as they were pre-occupied by some other compulsions on the political front.

The KSE 100-share index finished well below the week's peak level followed by highly erratic movements amid alternate bouts of buying and selling, off 7.95 points at 5,335.57 as compared to 5,343.52 a week earlier. It touched the highest at 5,368 and the lowest at 5,326 points.

The most disturbing feature was a record fall of the turnover figure to 106 million shares, sending shock waves among investors in the absence of institutional traders. In the absence of leading financial investors, others did not venture to lead the trendless market, although attractively lower prices on most counters offered an attractive bait of capital gains.

However, the worst seems to be over now and the market was expected to resume its normal trading by next week as the current lower level could attract any amount of covering purchases.

If bonus shares at the rate of 100 per cent by Jahangir Siddiqui Investment Bank and Javed Vohra and Co were of any cue to corporate earnings, then investors should go all-out for those shares whose interims were well above predictions.

The 10 per cent bonus shares by the Union Bank and an interim of 15 and 20 per cent by the Picic Bank and Aventis and an identical announcements from others should have buoyed the investors. But most were undecided.

No one was inclined to hold long positions even for a single session. Positions taken in earlier sessions were liquidated before the final bell, both at the rise and decline.

"Bargain-hunters and speculators entered into the rings like a hurricane and left with the same speed leaving small savers and investors to guess what ailed them", said an analyst.

The August 18 election of the prime minister-designate Shaukt Aziz to the Parliament, allied with it the fears of law and order situation may be the inhabiting factors behind current sluggishness, he said but the continued absence, falling volumes and fractional price changes pointed to some "inherent future threat for share business".

"The market was preparing itself for a post-election run-up to welcome elections of the prime minister-designate", said a leading broker, adding, "financial investors were eyeing the index level of 6,000 points to welcome the stock-market-friendly prime minister".

But some others claimed the pre-determined lower rates were still to climb and financial investors were awaiting that level before resuming market operations. The opening, therefore, was easy amid reports of violence in some parts of the city as a protest against the last week's bomb blasts but later support allowed the market to finish further higher.

"Investors may have kept a bold face on the strength of positive basic fundamentals but fears were lurking in their minds about the developing situation on the law and order front and its likely negative fallout on the investment climate", said a leading stock analyst.

Reports from the corporate front were fairly encouraging but they could not be the sole stimulant until backed by a peaceful political background news, he added. Banking, cement, fertiliser on reports of higher earnings were in the forefront of shares, which led the market's resistance to further marking down. They were later joined by some energy shares amid rumours of increase in retail selling prices of oil after about four weeks of status quo.

Floor brokers said some leading shares were still in an oversold position and could attract a lot of covering purchases even in a falling market to keep investors in a buoyant mood.

Some others said leading operators, notably financial traders will play safe till August 18 elections. Although, the market was rife with rumours that the federal minister Shaukat Aziz will win election, there could be some upsets in the backdrop of suicide attack on him, brokers said.

"The market was expected to remain volatile till the elections as no one will go for a big kill even at falling prices", they said. Leading gainers were led by the Murree Brewery, Jahangir Siddiqui Bank, Fero sons Lab, Pakistan Services, Jahangir Siddique & Co, Pakistan Cables, the EFU Life, and the Rafhan Maize Products.

Other good gainers included the Arif Habib Securities, Babari Cotton, Gadoon Textiles, Kohinoor Textiles, Thal, Lakson Tobacco, Dawood Hercules and the Colgate Pakistan. Losers were led by the Dawood Lawrencepur, Century Papers, the IGI Insurance, Unilever Pakistan, Javed Omer, Wyeth Pakistan, Nestle MilkPak and many others.

FORWARD COUNTER: Leading shares, notably the Pakistan Petroleum, the OGDC, the PTCL, Fauji Fertiliser, Engro Chemical, the PSO and some others managed to put on fresh gains but cement shares and some others finished with modest fall amid active selling.