KARACHI, Aug 15: Stocks on Thursday took a technical pause as leading investors and financial institutions indulged in profit-selling at the inflated levels on the blue chip counters. The KSE 100-share index eased by 5.04 points at 1,840.98.

Analysts also attributed the reaction to the absence of some leading investors who stayed on the sidelines analyzing the impact of SECP’s fresh reform agenda, seeking broad-based role for the private sector in the affairs of the country’s stock exchanges after the year-end annual elections.

Salient features of the agenda announced on last Tuesday relate to the composition of the board of directors of the country’s bourses for the next year having equal number of directors both from the private sector and the brokers. Also selection of the chairman from the four non-members to be nominated by the government instead of the elected directors. For the last over five decades, the president or the chairman belonged to broker members of the stock exchanges.

The initial reaction of the brokers to the new rules was not that encouraging as leading among them stayed away terming them “official intervention in the affairs of the bourses, which could well mean loss of authority.”

Some leading brokers say the steps being taken by the apex body to make share business more transparent and on modern lines but are not conducive to current scenario. Some others say the reform agenda may be relevant to developed markets not to the local ones owing to lack of basic infrastructure.

The KSE 100-share index, which has risen by about five per cent during the last couple of sessions to 1,846.02, reacted though modestly by five points could move further down as brokers will demonstrate their opposition to the new rules after creating bearish conditions in a rising market.

“The fall of the volume figure from the previous peak level of 184m shares to 87m shares reflects negative reaction to the SECP’s reform agenda,” one leading broker said.

Although minus signs dominated the list, most of the declines were fractional and reflected lack of support rather than large selling. Aventis Pharma, 9th ICP Mutual Fund, PSO, Century Papers and Wyeth Pakistan, were exceptions, which suffered fall ranging from Rs1.45 to Rs2.

Most of the leading shares did not toe the market’s general line of action and rose from the previous levels on renewed support. Treet Corporation, Security Papers, Nestle MilkPak, Packages and Pak Reinsurance were leading among them, up Rs3.20 to Rs34.55.

Other good gainers included Security Leasing (preference shares), Shafiq Textiles, Kohinoor Weaving, Adam Sugar and Pak-Suzuki Motors, up Rs1.45 to Rs1.95.

Losing shares forced a comfortable lead over the advancing ones after several sessions at 139 to 90, with 62 shares holding on to the last levels.

Hub-Power again led the list of most actives, easy 10 paisa at Rs26.15 on 34m shares, PSO, off Rs1.85 at 146.55 on 10m shares, PTCL, lower 10 paisa at Rs18.50 also on 10m shares, National Bank, easy five paisa at Rs22.15 on 8m shares and ICI Pakistan, up 30 paisa at Rs39.20 on 4m shares.

Other actives were led by Fauji Fertilizer, off 40 paisa on 2.426m shares, Engro Chemicals, down also by the same amount on 1.860m shares, Adamjee Insurance, lower 85 paisa on 1.538m shares, FFC-Jordan Fertilizer, easy five paisa on 1.365m shares and ICP SEMF, lower 20 paisa on 1.276m shares.

CLEARED LIST: Barring PSO, which suffered a sharp setback of Rs1.45 at Rs147 on 2.868m shares, all other leading forward shares showed modest decline under the lead of PTCL, lower 15 paisa on 2.222m shares.