20000223

LSE index swells by 8.93 points

Recorder Report

Lahore: Bullish spell continued on the Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) here on Tuesday under the lead of blue chips, which consolidated their earlier gains.

The LSE-101 share index swelled by 8.93 points and closed at 476.13 points as against 467.22 points of Monday. The volume descended to 104.150 million shares as compared with 131.184 million shares of the previous day, showing a fall of 27.034 million shares.

The major thrust of activity remained confined to the oil and gas sector. However, PTCL, Adamjee Insurance and Dhan Fibre also fared better, scoring handsome gains, and finished on a positive note.

Analysts said that the recent statement of the PTCL Chairman that all was set for the privatisation of the institution, had triggered activity in the scrip. Investors were enthusiastic about the privatisation of the PTCL, which implied that it had strength to go up further, they added.

The market resumed trading on a positive note and continued moving up throughout the session. However, in the first half of the second session, it showed some weakness but soon landed again in the positive column, finally closed on a positive note.

Imran Butt of Trust Securities said that the equity values surged across the board on Tuesday and the bullish spell was not confined to any particular sector. The upsurge in ready board was an encouraging sign for the market, indicating strength in the market, he added.

However, he said that as the market was touching new levels, therefore, at this stage, a downward technical correction had become inevitable. If the market were swelled by taking short dips, it would have a healthy impact on its sentiments, Imran Butt observed.

Out of a total of 190 scrips, which exchanged hands during the day, 57 improved their worth, 34 lost their value while 99 remained at their overnight levels.

Among the major gainers, Pakistan Oil Fields was up by Rs 17.00, Adamjee Insurance Rs 3.20, Soneri Bank Rs 2.25, Mari Gas Company Rs 2.00, Al-Faysal Bank Rs 1.05, PTC Rs 90 paisa and ICI Rs 60 paisa.

In the negative column, Crescent Textile Mills was down by Rs 2.50, Highnoon Laboratories Rs 2.00, Mohammad Farooq Textile Mills and Shell Pakistan Re. 1.00 each.