KARACHI, June 6: Heavy foreign buying in OGDC featured Wednesday’s trading on stock market where leading local investors played on both sides of the fence amid conflicting rumours about the fiscal incentives in the upcoming budget. The KSE 100-share index added another 45.28 points to the overnight total at 13,212.05.
The volatility of the index, which passed through an adjustment of 186 points during the session, reflected that investors are still unsure about the widely-rumoured tax relief and not inclined to go beyond certain pre-determined price limits.
Volume figure soared to a year’s high at 465m shares, bulk of which went to the credit of OGDC on strong GDR-related foreign buying and new oil finds coupled with local speculative support, up by Rs1.05 at Rs123.65 on 75m shares.
But pre-budget buying was fairly aggressive on those counters which are expected to be the chief beneficiaries of the fresh corporate incentives, cement and banking shares being on the top, while oil shares responded bullishly to higher international oil prices.
The market’s highly erratic either-way movements was also well-reflected in the volatility of the KSE 100-share index which hit the session’s peak at 13,334.30 and the low at 13,146.51, showing a massive adjustment of 186 points.
However, finally it managed to finish further higher by 45.28 points pints at 13,212.05 as leading base shares maintained their upward drive under the lead of OGDC, National Bank and Bank Alfalah. The 30-share index on the other hand showed a fractional fall of 4.06 points at 16,748.49.The fact that the index has confidently established itself well above the coveted level of 13,000 points indicates that the bulls are not tired yet and can take it further higher possibly after the budget, some brokers said, adding “all the basic fundamentals are positive and the new budget give the market a fresh boost”.A leading stock analyst Hasnain Asghar Ali attributed the initial run-up to official confirmation of the bidding of PSO by the end of this month after the disqualification of Attock Group.
He said all eyes were now focused on the budget and the PSO bidding factor may not be relevant until the final bidding date of its sell-off was announced.
But another leading analyst Ashraf Zakaria cautioned the higher CFS cap could lead to profit-selling and the reversal of the pre-budget bull-run if it was not backed by corporate incentives. “Pressure on liquidity will naturally lead to selling to clear positions,” he added.
Bata Pakistan and Rafhan Maize were leading among the gainers, up by Rs14.85 and Rs40. They were followed by Pakistan Resource Co, PSO, AKD Capital, Grays of Cambridge, Excide Pakistan, Mirpurkhas Sugar, EFU Life and General, Engro Chemical, Nestle Pakistan and Arif Habib Securities, which were quoted higher by Rs8.85 to Rs14.65.
Major losers were led by JS & Co and Sanofi-Aventis, off Rs10.65 and Rs14.50, Adamjee Insurance, Lakson Tobacco, Shell Gas, Shell Pakistan, Pakistan Oilfields, Colgate Pakistan and Attock Refinery suffered fall ranging from Rs4.40 to Rs5.
The broader market was, however, a bit weak as losers held a comfortable lead over the gainers at 186 to 157, with 43 shares holding on to the last levels.
D.G. Khan Cement, lower 30 paisa at Rs114.75 on 37m shares, Askari Bank, up by Rs2.45 at Rs101.65 on 36m shares, Lucky Cement, off Rs1.45 at Rs111.80 on 34m shares, National Bank, higher by Rs3.95 at Rs264.80 on 25m shares, Bank of Punjab, off Rs2.10 at Rs113.80 on 17m shares and Bank Alfalah, up 95 paisa at Rs55.40 on 10m shares.
Other actives were led by Nishat Mills, off Rs1.20 on 20m shares, TRG Pakistan, lower by 90 paisa on 18m shares and Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim, easy by 45 paisa on 17m shares.
FORWARD COUNTER: D.G. Khan Cement came in for active selling at the overnight higher levels and was marked down by 95 paisa at Rs114.65 on 14m shares, followed by Lucky Cement, off Rs1.45 at Rs112.60 on 13m shares and OGDC, up by 85 paisa at Rs122.40 on 12m shares.
National Bank came in for renewed support and was marked up by Rs2.30 at Rs265.10 on 7m shares and Engro Chemical, sharply higher by Rs9.15 at Rs249.60 on 7m shares.
DEFAULTER COS: Active trading was witnessed on this counter but on the lower side under the lead of Nimir Chemical, lower 10 paisa at Rs3.35 on 0.351m shares followed by Japan Power, easy 15 paisa at Rs4.75 on 0.276m shares and Norrie Textiles, lower by 10 paisa at Rs2.40 on 0.255m shares.