LSE index scores a century

The Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) welcomed the change in the political scenario of the country following resignation of Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali from the premier-ship, backed by aggressive institutional buying, the index scored a century with a significant improvement in turnover.
The LSE-25 index closed at 2844.08 points compared with 2740.36 of the previous session, posting a net rise of 103.72 points. There was also a remarkable improvement in turnover, which soared to 91.753 million shares from 46.579 million shares.
Welcoming the nomination of Shaukat Aziz as future prime minister of the country, the market took bullish start and then gained momentum on the back of strong institutional interest.
According to stockbrokers, bulls took control of the driving seats from the outset and then did not lose its grip at any stage during the session. Fuel & energy stocks and banking sector were among the top gainers followed by Adamjee Insurance and cement shares.
Stock analysts said that the day's bull-run was expected due to last week's continuous losses and then sudden change in the political scene of the country. Moreover, the prices had come to a level where institutional support was expected.
Ahmed Nabeel, head of operations, Invest & Finance Securities Ltd, said that the market had celebrated the nomination of Shaukat Aziz as new Premier and registered across the board gains, boosted by aggressive buying from the big players, including the institutional buyers.
He said that the political situation had put the CVT issue in the backdrop for the time being that had recently been holding the entire market hostage. But the trend was unlikely to prolong and the market could start declining again soon.
"Now every day will be a new day for the market," he viewed. However, he said that the sentiment might change from mid July when corporate results would start pouring in.
He further said that the coming IPO, Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), would also provide support to the market. It was likely to be offered at Rs 55/- and its per share earning might be around Rs 8/-. But there was a strong anticipation that soon after the oath of Shaukat Aziz, public might start showing resentment over the appointment of a non-political figure as head of the government.
"So I understand that interest will gradually decline in the market and it will be moving in a zigzag way in the long-term."
Under the given circumstances, people were advised to avoid taking long positions and it was better to trade on day to day basis while remaining in low profile, he said.
Out of a total of 81 traded scrips, 44 gained, 2 landed in negative column while 35 maintained its previous price levels. Among prominent gainers, PSO improved by Rs 5.65, National Bank Rs 3.10, Bank of Punjab Rs 3.00, MCB Rs 2.15 and Adamjee Insurance Rs 2.10. In the negative column, LTV Capital Modarba and First Standard Investment Bank shed Rs 0.10 and Rs 0.05, respectively. Bank of Punjab and OGDC were volume leaders with 12.048 million and 9.646 million shares, respectively.