Lahore Stock Exchange turns bearish

Bearish trend returned to Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE), where equities finished lower amid ascending transaction volume mainly on account of selling pressure in Sui Southern, Fauji Fertiliser, Bank of Punjab and PTCL.
The LSE-25 index declined by 22.91 points, closing at 3024.97 against 3047.88 of Monday, while the trading turnover increased to 175.089 million shares, as compared to 166.322 million shares traded a day earlier.
MCB, Dewan Farooq Motors, Maple Leaf Cement, Nishat Mills and Dewan Salman helped the market avert more declines, while Sui Southern, National Bank, Fauji Fertiliser and PTCL remained under pressure.
The market presented see-saw situation during the entire Tuesday's trading. The market that opened on a healthy note was hit by selling pressure and ultimately led into negative zone.
It was a Badla day that investors preferred offloading their holdings to secure their positions instead of bearing three-day Badla charges. The panic that was generated a day earlier due to significant increase in Badla rate and Badla volume also continued for the second day.
This kept most of the investors away from the market. Only potential investors and brokers were seen in buying of selective scrips.
The Badla capitalisation at the LSE has increased to Rs 4 billion, while Badla average rate registered improvement from Monday's 21 percent to 25 percent, said Ahmad Nabeel of Invest and Finance Securities, while commenting on the market sentiments.
The market was in overbought position, and the technical correction was due. The market experts are anticipating correction of additional 100-point within next couple of days which would be a good omen for the stocks business, he said, adding the prevailing sentiments are likely to continue till the forthcoming budget, and buying at every dip can pay dividend to the investors.
The cement sector would play contributory role in the upward move because the cement exports have increased, Nabeel maintained.
Declining stocks were ahead of advancing ones, as out of a total of 97 active issues, 20 companies registered gains, 26 went down, while 51 stayed glued to their previous levels.
Sitara Chemical improved by Rs 4.20, MacPac Films gained Rs 2.65, Pak Oil Field and MCB were up by Rs 2.00 and Rs 2.70, respectively.
In the negative column, Engro Chemical lost Rs 2.00, Fidelity Investment Bank declined by Rs 1.90, while Adamjee Insurance and PSO were down by Rs 1.70 and Rs 1.55, respectively.
OGDC was the market leader, whose 21.659 million shares changed hands, followed by Dewan Salman Fibre with total transaction of 19.273 million shares.