KARACHI, Oct 7: Stocks on Thursday suffered a mild reaction owing to Multan incident but larger fall was averted thanks to active covering purchases at the dips on cement and bank sectors.
Suicide car bomb attack on a religious congregation in Multan, killing over three dozen persons, however, shocked investors but they adhered to the sidelines rather than indulging in hasty selling.
The market should have suffered a massive shakeout but bullish basic fundamentals including higher dividend announcements limited the decline and indications are that there could be further price erosions at the weekend session.
After moving either-way earlier amid alternate bouts of buying and selling and breaching through the barrier of 5,300, the KSE 100-share index finally ended fractionally lower by 3.77 points at 5,295.76 as compared to 5,299.53 a day earlier.
The fact that it finished well above the day's lowest level reflects that investors have already digested the negative fall-out of the incident and may not indulge in panic-selling weekend profit-taking notwithstanding on selected counters.
Heavy buying in the OGDC at the still attractively lower level aided by higher world oil prices, which finished higher was the chief factor behind the market resistance to sharp fall. OGDC has a weight age of 22 per cent in the index.
Strong speculative buying in Nishat Mills, which ended close to its circuit breaker, up by Rs3.45 was another positive factor aiding the market to avert a major decline.
Steep increase in world oil prices has added new dimensions to the local energy sector, which will certainly benefit from it if it was sustained above the $50 per barrel, brokers said.
However, analysts predict the market is expected to follow its own fundamentals rather than opting for negative external factors at least for the near-term. Leading gainers were led by Pakistan Oilfields, EFU Life, Haroon Oils, Clariant Pakistan, Artistic Denim, Shezan International and International Industries, which posted gains ranging from Rs4 to Rs7.45.
IGI Insurance topped the list of losers, off Rs13.50 followed by Arif Habib Securities, Glaxo-SKF, Noon Pakistan, Crescent Steel, Pakistan Engineering, and National Foods, off Rs2.35 to Rs5.45. Trading volume rose to 356.129m shares from the previous 321m shares as gainers maintained a slight edge over the losers at 175 to 171, with 44 shares holding on to the last levels.
OGDC again topped the list of actives, up by 25 paisa at Rs65.40 on 56m shares followed by PTCL, easy by 25 paisa at Rs43.85 on 34m shares, Nishat Mills, higher by Rs3.45 at Rs49.75 on 30m shares, Fauji Cement, up by 26 paisa at Rs16.40 on 27m shares and Askari Bank, higher by Rs1.40 at Rs87.30 on 24m shares.
Other actives were led by Hub-Power, lower 90 paisa on 23m shares, MCB, up by 85 paisa on 23m shares, D.G.Khan Cement, firm by 45 paisa on 17m shares, Sui Northern Gas, steady 15 paisa on 13m shares, and National Bank, lower 30 paisa on 12m shares.
FORWARD COUNTER: PPL came in for renewed selling and fell by 65 paisa at Rs119.55 on 12m shares followed by Hub-Power, off Re1 on 8m shares, Pakistan Oilfields, higher by Rs2.80 on 6m shares, PTCL, lower 25 paisa at Rs43.85 also on 6m shares, and D.G.Khan Cement, up by 40 paisa on 6m shares.
DEFAULTER COS: Active trading was witnessed on this counter as some of the current actives came in for strong support under the lead of National Asset Leasing, up by 10 paisa at Rs3.10 on 0.289m shares followed by Dandot Cement, firm by 15 paisa at Rs10.65 on 0.185m shares and Asset Investment Bank, off 50 paisa at Rs5.50 on 0.181m shares.
DIVIDEND: Noon Pakistan, nil on ordinary shares and 12 per cent on preference shares, Natover Lease and Refinance, 15 per cent on preference shares, nil on ordinary shares, Pak Datacom, cash 20 per cent, S.G.Power, six per cent, Colony Woollen, EMOC Industries and S.G.Fibre, nil.
BOARD MEETINGS: Ghandahara Industries, Prudential Stock Fund, Prudential Investment Bank, on Oct 8, Suhail Jute, UDL Modaraba, Asian Stock Fund, Safeway Mutual Fund, Financial Link Modaraba, on Oct 9, Trust Leasing on Oct 11, Attock Cement, Fayzan Modaraba, PICIC Commercial Bank, on Oct 12, Bank Al-Habib, Faysal Balanced Fund, International Multi Leasing, on Oct 13, KASB Pumps, Century Papers, on Oct 15, Rafhan Best Foods, on Oct 21, Bata Pakistan on Oct 26, and Union Bank on Oct 29.