KARACHI, June 13: Stocks on Thursday showed fractional either-way changes as investors and bargain-hunters were not inclined to make fresh commitment apparently awaiting the outcome of high-level meeting between the president and the visiting US defence secretary Rumsfeld on the Indo-Pakistan standoff.
The market was rife with rumours ahead of the meeting including specific time schedule for the withdrawal of Indian forces from the borders and broad outline to settle the Kashmir issue.
But the market lacked any notable feature both in terms of massive activities and big gains as price movements were mostly fractional, indicating no one was inclined to go beyond certain trading limits owing partly to the proximity of the national budget and partly to a lot of speculation associated with the Rumsfeld visit.
Trading volume shrank below a 100m share mark as the KSE 100-share index recovered most of the earlier fall of 15 points and ended fractionally down by 1.23 points at 1,785.81.
Earlier, the trading was dominated by conflicting reports about the border situation and partial withdrawal of Indian forces from the Punjab and Rajasthan borders.
However, the mid-session rumours that framework for the withdrawal of Indian troops from the borders has been agreed between the president and the visiting US defence secretary provided the needed push to the speculative forces and the consequent recovery from the initial lows.
National Bank and PSO came in for active short-covering after the rumour about the date of withdrawal of Indian troops reached the market and so did some other low-priced blue chips.
“The national budget is only two days away but unlike the previous years speculative forces and bargain-hunters are more concerned about the border situation rather than the fiscal steps,” stock analysts said.
The general perception that the new budget may be a bit tough as it is being announced in a difficult time when the war clouds are looming large on the horizon of the subcontinent also halted the pre-budget speculative rally, they added.
Although the war fears are fading each session after the US intervention, the statements from the president and others that fear of “war is still there,” did not allow investors to respond positively to peace moves.
PSO, United Distributors, Nafees Cotton, Mitchell’s Fruits and Rafhan Maize led the list of prominent gainers, rising by Rs.1.40 to Rs.2. They were followed by Commercial Union Insurance, Gul Ahmed Textiles, Pakistan Tobacco, Al-Ghazi Tractors, Engro Chemical and Nestle MilkPak, up one rupee to Rs.1.20.
Losers included leading MNCs such as Abbott Lab, Shell Pakistan, BOC Pakistan, off Rs.1.85 to 2.60, followed by Pak Reinsurance and Wyeth Pakistan SK&F, Dewan Textiles, Pakistan Oilfields, Clariant Pakistan and Attock Refinery, off one rupee to Rs.10.
Trading activity was slow at 91m shares as losers maintained a fair lead over the gainers at 145 to 111, with 60 shares holding on to the last levels.
Hub-Power led the list of actives, off 20 paisa at Rs.23.60 on 33m shares followed by PTCL, unchanged at Rs.17.60 thanks to strong institutional support on 17m shares, Telecard, easy five paisa at Rs.14.55 on 6m shares, National Bank, higher 35 paisa at Rs.20.10 on 6m shares and PSO, up Rs.1.40 at Rs.143.75 on 5m shares.
Other actives were led by Engro Chemical, up one rupee on 5m shares, MCB, lower 10 paisa on 3m shares, Sui Northern, easy five paisa on 2m shares, ICI Pakistan, lower 25 paisa also on 2m shares and FFC-Jordan Fertilizer, easy five paisa on 1.318m shares.
FUTURE CONTRACTS: PSO also came in for active buying on the forward counter and rose by Rs.1.30 at Rs.144.75 on 3.094m shares. Fauji Fertilizer and Engro Chemical also rose by 60 to 70 paisa amid modest activity.
Hub-Power led the actives, easy 30 paisa at Rs.23.65 on 10.620m shares followed by PTCL, lower 10 paisa at Rs.17.70 on 4.721m shares.
DEFAULTER COMPANIES: Mixed trend was seen on this counter where a dozen shares came in for trading under the lead of Ravi Rayon, unchanged at Rs.5 on 6,700 shares followed by Mehran Jute, also unchanged at Re.1 on 5,000 shares and Suzuki Motorcycles, lower 20 paisa at Rs.4.65 on 5,000 shares.