Futures spread down

Volatile conditions and onslaught from bears resulted in leverage position moving down as speculators and punters are now going out of the market.
Looking at the CFS and stock futures open interest, it is clear that leverage positions are waning as speculators and punters are now going out of the market. The KSE CFS on Friday was Rs 24.2 billion with annualised CFS rate of 15.2 percent, despite tighter money market.
Similarly, the net open position in the newly open June counter was only Rs 10.5 billion, down from Rs 14.7 billion last weekend. Ample liquidity in the arbitrage market can be evaluated by looking at low cost of carry of 12.2 percent on Friday.
The CFS rate at the end of the week (May 26) was 15.16 percent. The rate of CFS rate for some shares had touched its upper cap of 18 percent on Thursday, but it came down again on Friday.
The rate for CFS is relatively low these days due to the news of introduction of CFS Mk II, which will uncap the amount of the CFS, and will make it a free market, therefore, lending rates would go down. One of the notable features of CFS is an increase in the PPL shares from 12.5 million to 15 million shares.
The futures open interest for June remains at Rs 10.5 billion at a spread of 11.9 percent, which is below the usual rate, showing the negative sentiment and uncertainty established in the market. May''''s future open interest of Rs 8.5 percent still remains unsettled.