KARACHI, Dec 21: The KSE 100-share index on Thursday broke the psychological barrier of 10,000 points on active selling in the base shares by leading investors trapped in massive leverage positions as the rollover week is in the fading stages.
According to market sources leverage positions of some of the leading brokers had touched the high mark of Rs37 billion on the CFS counter, which was said to be the chief reason behind the current sell-off.
But investors were not inclined to make fresh commitments as was reflected by sharp fall in the volume figure and the consequent extended fall.The KSE 100-share index was quoted at 9,923.11, off 259.22 points or 2.5 per cent as compared to 10,182.33 a day earlier as all the leading base shares including MCB, National Bank and OGDC received fresh massive battering. The market capital lost Rs65 billion at Rs2,771 billion.
The KSE 30-share index also followed its lead and was marked down by 395.43 points or 3.11 per cent at 12,316.57 points.
An idea of panic-selling may well be had from the fact that blue chips, MCB, National Bank, Pakistan Petroleum and Pakistan Oilfields, finished around their lower locks but failed to attract buying at the lower levels.
Negative news including Callmate Telips, forensic probe report, SECP clarification about the missing data were there and continued to take their toll according to investor perceptions.
“But the chief factor behind the falling market is lack of investor confidence in share business badly shattered by a spate of bad news,” stock analyst Ashraf Zakria said.
No one could say that the current levels of some of the leading shares ensure massive capital gains in the new year trading, he said, adding “encouraging corporate results for the year ending Dec 31, 2006 could attract investors who have the courage to take risk at this stage”.
“It was a bad December in market parlance,” another analyst Faisal A. Rajabali said, adding “nobody could have expected a couple of weeks earlier it could be like this also”.
Some of the leading shares, however, managed to finish higher under the lead of Sanofi-Aventis and Colgate Pakistan, up by Rs8.45 and Rs19.20, followed by Atlas Honda, Sapphire Fibre, Shaheen Insurance, Central Insurance, Mustehkam Cement, Attock Petroleum and Dawood Hercules, higher by Rs4 to Rs6.
Among the prominent losers Shell Pakistan, National Bank and MCB fell by Rs11.60 to Rs12.30, followed by Pakistan Oilfields, National Refinery, Pakistan Petroleum, Gilltte Pakistan, PSO, which suffered fall ranging from Rs6 to Rs10.40.
Trading volume fell to 102m shares from the previous 141m shares as losers again topped gainers by 220 to 82, with 37 shares holding on to the last levels.
National Bank came in for active selling and led the list of actives, off Rs11.60 at Rs224.50 on 10m shares followed by OGDC, lower by Rs3.40 at Rs115 also on 10m shares, PTCL, off Rs2.20 at Rs42.10 on 9m shares, MCB, sharply lower by Rs12.30 at Rs234.55 on 9m shares, Pakistan Petroleum, off Rs6 at Rs230 on 7m shares and Faysal Bank, Rs1.75 at Rs59.30 on 5m shares.
Bank of Punjab followed them, off Rs3 on 6m shares, D.G. Khan Cement, lower Rs3.20 on 5m shares, Pakistan Oilfields, off Rs10.40 on 4m shares and Bank Alfalah, lower Rs2 on 3m shares.
FORWARD COUNTER: National Bank came in for renewed selling and fell by Rs9.45 at Rs225.50 on 8m shares, Pakistan Petroleum, easy by Rs2.75 at Rs235 on 7m shares and OGDC, lower Rs3.30 at Rs116.20 on 5m shares.
National Bank’s January contract was quoted lower by Rs11.05 at Rs227.85 on 5m shares and December settlement of Pakistan Petroleum fell by Rs5.45 at Rs230.45 on 4m shares.
DEFAULTER COS: Noori Textiles, came in for active support and rose by 50 paisa at Rs4.50 on 1.641m shares followed by Crescent Standard Bank, lower by 10 paisa at Rs5 on 0.178m shares.
DIVIDEND: Habib Sugar Mills, cash 20 per cent plus bonus shares at the rate of 33.33 per cent.
BOARD MEETINGS: Unilever Pakistan on Dec 26, Mehran Sugar, Mirza Sugar, and Sindh Abadgars’ Sugar Mills on Dec 27, Faran Sugar Mills on Dec 28 and Al-Noor Sugar Mills on Jan 4, 2007.