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Bulls go wild on LSE

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: Bulls went wild on the Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) on Monday, where the index moved up by 18.36 points. However, the trade volume registered was low as compared to the last clearing day of the last week.

The market opened on a bullish note and the upward thrust continued throughout the trading sessions. Although the surge was witnessed across the board, bulk of activity was revolved around oil sector, especially Shell Pakistan and PSO.

Adamjee Insurance and Fauji Fertilizer also fared better and closed on an encouraging note. However, volume leader PTCL and Engro Chemical lost their values and finished on a depressed note.

Market pundits were unable to give any solid reason but said an upward technical correction boosted the sentiments of the market. They said that the closing of the market on a positive note indicated that it was gaining momentum and was likely to consolidate further when it resumes trading tomorrow.

Market analyst Dr. Shahid Zia of Zafar Securities said that like last Friday, when the market had received heavy battering, today it also behaved against the expectations of the market players. In absence of any fresh positive development on the economic or political front, the market players were hardly expecting much surge as they witnessed during the day's trading, he added.

He said that technically the day's bullishness may be termed as an 'upward correction,' which may continue to persist tomorrow.

The LSE 101-share index shot up by 18.36 points and closed at 428.99 points of Friday. The volume decreased by 15.017 million shares to 126.011 million shares as compared to its earlier closing of 141.028 million shares.

Out of a total of 206 scrips, which exchanged hands during the sessions, 76 improved their worth, 31 landed in the minus column while 99 maintained their previous levels.

Among the key gainers, Lever Brothers was up by 94.75 points, Shell Pakistan Rs 30.90, PSO Rs 17.55, Adamjee Insurance Rs 17.30, Nishat (Chunian) Rs 6.35 and Kohinoor Weaving Mills Rs 4.73.

In the negative column, Engro Chemical was down by Rs 6.90, Millat Tractors Rs 3.95, BOC Pakistan Rs 1.10, Abbot Laboratories Re. 1, while Mohib Textile Mills fell by 92 paisa.