KARACHI, Jan 10: Stocks on Thursday again finished lower after an early rally was intercepted by renewed selling triggered by reports of bomb blast in Lahore, killing more than two dozen and injuring over five dozen persons.
However, bulk of the selling was absorbed at the dips as a section of leading investors and institutional traders covered positions on selected counters.
After opening higher to touch the session’s high of 14,319.90 on early short-covering, stocks reacted to finish off 183.48 points or 1.29 per cent at 14,082.94 on selling prompted by reports of bomb blast in Lahore. The free float 30-share index was off by 177.83 points at 16,647.95.
The OGDC, MCB, Pakistan Petroleum, and Atif Habib Securities were leading among the big losers on the blue chip counter but unlike the previous sessions, there were buyers at the dips in selected shares.
The interesting feature is that despite having given highly erratic movements, it managed to judiciously guard the barrier of 14,000 points for the last couple of sessions, reflecting the inherent strength of some of the leading base shares under the lead of National Bank and PSO.
Floor brokers said a leading section of investors is in the market is inclined to make investment buying, but negative news from the law and order front did not allow them to hold long positions.
“The market reacts positively to its basic fundamentals after each dip, but the very next day another bad news triggers selling by both leading investors and day traders,” they said.
A leading analyst says the market may continue to give highly erratic price movement prior to the national elections next month as investors are unsure about the law and order situation even for the following session. However, some of the low-priced shares remained in active demand because of lower risks, adding significantly to the daily turnover figures.
Minus signs again dominated the list under the lead of Nestle Pakistan and Unilever Pakistan, off by Rs54 and 50, followed by Adamjee Insurance, New Jubilee Insurance, Attock Refinery, Attock Petroleum, National Foods, Pakistan Services, Shell Pakistan, EFU General and EFU Life, which fell by Rs8 to 28.35.
But on the other hand, some of the leading shares managed to put on fresh gains, notable among them being Habib Bank and Pakistan Engineering, up by Rs11.50 and 13.50, respectively. They were followed by Shell Gas, Dawood Lawrence, AKD Securities, Gillette Pakistan and Singer Pakistan, up by Rs5.35 to 7.
Trading volume rose to 246 million shares from the previous 223 million shares as losers maintained a strong lead over the gainers at 244 to 95, with 23 shares holding on to the last levels.
The National Bank topped the list of actives, steady by 10 paisas at Rs233 on 12 million shares, followed by NIB Bank, lower 55 paisas at Rs23 on 11 million shares, Sitara Peroxide, up 70 paisas at Rs81.70 on nine million shares, Pakistan Petroleum, lower Rs3.05 at Rs250 on eight million shares, OGDC, off one rupee at Rs120.10 also on eight million shares and Arif Habib Securities, sharply lower by Rs4.25 at Rs164.75 on seven million shares.
Other actives were led by TRG Pakistan, lower 45 paisas at Rs13.35 on 10 million shares, Bosicor Pakistan, easy 65 paisas at Rs20.45 on nine million shares, Azgard Nine, up Rs2.35 54.30 on eight million shares and Pervez Ahmed Securities, unchanged at Rs58.85 also on eight million shares.
FORWARD COUNTER: Arif Habib came in for fresh selling and ended lower by Rs1.30 at Rs30.05 on nine million shares, followed by the National Bank, up by 80 paisas at Rs234.50 on four million shares and MCB, off Rs4.15 at Rs288.50 also on four million shares.
D G Khan Cement followed them, off Rs3.50 at Rs90.60 on four million shares and PSO, up by Rs1.10 at Rs419.10 on three million shares.
DEFAULTER COs: Zeal Pak Cement came in for active selling, but fell fractionally by 10 paisas at Rs4.50 on 1.381 million shares, followed by Unity Modaraba, easy five paisas at Rs1.65 on 1.310 million shares and Norrie Textiles, lower by 10 paisas at Rs2 on 0.742 million shares.
Other actives were led by Haydery Construction, off 90 paisas at Rs3.10 on 0.486 million shares, Indus Polyster, up 55 paisas at Rs2.70 on 0.420 million shares and Pangrio Sugar, lower by 40 paisas at Rs27.50 on 0.290 million shares.