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LSE: upward rally halts

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: Stocks failed to maintain the overnight upward rally, following the week-end selling pressure, and finally closed on a depressed note here on Friday.

The LSE 101-share index dropped by 2.56 points and closed at 456.45 points as against 459.01 points of Thursday. The volume increased by 64.172 million shares. It amounted to 125.920 million shares as against 61.748 million shares of the second last clearing day.

There was a brisk activity in the market when it resumed trading in the morning. In the first session, PSO, PTCL, Sui Northern etc., continued to show bullish signs. However, PSO emerged as the most active issue. Market analysts said the upward trend in the oil prices on the world market was the main reason for hectic activity in PSO.

In the second half of the concluding session, the market started depicting depressed signs, when most of the weak holders off-loaded their positions at the available margins. At the final bell almost all blue chips shed earlier gains and closed at a weak note. The number of declines was more than the advances when the market closed.

A few minutes before the close, a significant profit-taking took place, which caused pressure in the equity values, observed market analyst Aun Abbas Kazmi of KASB. He, however, said that the sentiments of the market were bullish and investors might witness a good activity again on Monday, particularly in the oil and gas sector. He said that the oil prices in the international market had reached the level of $ 31 per barrel, therefore, the stock market people were anticipating a rise in the price of petroleum products in the local market.

In the perspective of rising oil prices internationally and the increasing chances of President Clinton's visit to Pakistan, the future outlook of the market seems to be rosy, he stated.

Out of a total of 160 scrips traded during the day, 23 were up, 54 were down, while 83 did not change their overnight positions.

Among the major gainers, Lever Brothers improved its worth by Rs 15, Millat Tractors Rs 4, PEL appliances Rs 3.15, Kohinoor Weaving Mills Rs 2.45 and Nishat (Chunian) Rs 1.25.

In the negative column, PSO was down by Rs 7, Adamjee Insurance Rs 4, Engro Chemical Rs 3.20, Sitara Chemical Industry Rs 2.50 and Faysal Bank Rs 2.40.