KARACHI, Aug 12: Stocks on Thursday fell further on a wide front as investors were not inclined to take fresh positions at the lower levels despite higher corporate profits and sustained growth recorded by some of the leading banks.
Investors were perhaps awaiting the advent of institutional buying at the falling prices but they were keeping to the sidelines apparently anticipating further decline on some of the counters.
"Their pre-determined lower levels may now be not that far away", brokers said "they are expected to be back in the market by the next week". The KSE 100-share index suffered a fresh setback of 26.79 points at 5,326.16 after opening higher and fell on late selling in some of the leading base shares.
For the third session in a row, investors pick up selected shares just after the opening bell and after mid-session sell them at the available margins. All the overvalued shares, which had risen beyond their financial mandate during the last two months' sustained run-up ran into profit-selling and fell under the lead of cement, energy fertilizer, auto and some blue chips on the other counters.
"Bargain-hunters and speculators enter the market like a hurricane and leave with the same speed taking their fold whatever they manage in a short spell", analyst said. In similar conditions as the prevailing one investors in general keep to the sidelines until the dust raised by the vested interests settles down, they added.
The market is, therefore, devoid of any special feature on any of the counters including the banking sector where Askari Bank, Meezan Bank, Union Bank and PICIC Bank have showed a record profit growth of 50 to 124 per cent.
There were no specific reasons behind the bearish perceptions sans the Aug 18 election to secure a seat for the prime minister-designate, Shaukat Aziz. A suicide attack on him in an election meeting in the central Punjab some two weeks earlier is considered a prelude to violence on the polling date and hence the safe play.
Minus signs again dominated the list under the lead of Ghani Glass, Jahangir Siddiqui Co, Jahangir Siddiqui Bank, Pakistan Cables, Rafhan Bestfoods, Unilever Pakistan and Javed Omer, off Rs3.90 to Rs31.25, largest fall being in Javed Omer.
However, all was not bad with a broader market as a good number of shares managed to finish with an extended gain, major gainers among them being Sapphire Fibre, Lakson Tobacco, Atlas Honda, EFU Life Assurance, Mari Gas, Gatron Industries and Rafhan Maize, up by Rs4.45 to Rs38.
Trading volume rose from the overnight lower level of 167m to 196m shares but losers maintained a fair lead over the gainers at 194 to 104, with 47 shares holding on to the last levels.
Maple Leaf Cement led the actives, up by 40 paisa at Rs38.65 on 19m shares followed by MCB, lower 10 paisa at Rs54.85 on 18m shares, D.G.Khan Cement, higher 45 paisa at Rs56.95 on 16m shares, Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim, firm by five paisa at Rs21.45 on 13m shares, Hub-Power, up by 25 paisa at Rs31.35 on 11m shares, OGDC, lower 40 paisa at Rs64.85 also on 11m shares and National Bank, off 65 paisa at Rs72.30 on 9m shares.
Other actives included Fauji Cement, steady by five paisa on 11m shares, Askari Bank, lower 30 paisa on 9m shares and PTCL, easy 20 paisa on 8m shares.
FORWARD COUNTER: Pakistan Petroleum again came in for alternate bouts of buying and selling and after hitting the day's lowest and highest at Rs107.50 and Rs108.75 respectively finished at Rs107.85, up five paisa on 114m shares.
OGDC on the other hand fell by 45 paisa at Rs.45.10 on 4m shares, Hub-Power rose by 30 paisa at Rs31.45 on 3m shares, PTCL, easy 15 paisa at Rs42.50 also on 3m shares and Maple Leaf Cement, lower 10 paisa at Rs38.75 on 3m shares.
DEFAULTER COS: Crescent Standard Bank came in for active selling at the higher rates and fell by 10 paisa at Rs11 on 1.388m shares followed by Indus Polyester, steady 10 paisa at Rs7.30 on 0.174m shares. Others were modestly traded.
DIVIDEND: Javed Omer Vohra & Co, bonus shares at the rate of 100 per cent, PICIC Commercial Bank, interim cash 15 per cent, Al-Jadeed Textiles, nil.
BOARD MEETINGS: Sigma Leasing, Aug 18, Pakistan Gum & Chemical, Metropolitan Bank, on Aug 19, Soneri Bank, on Aug 21 and Bank Al-Habib, on Aug 24.