Mixed trend prevails on LSE

Mixed trend prevailed on Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) where equities eroded values amid ascending transaction volume on account of institutional profit taking. The LSE index improved by 54.52 points, closing at 4637.15 against 4582.63 while trading turnover increased to 40.649 million shares as compared to 36.117 million shares traded a day earlier.
OGDC, PPL, Bank of Punjab, Pakistan PTA and KESC appreciated their values while MCB Bank, Fauji Fertiliser, PICIC; PSO and Lucky Cement remained under selling pressure.
The market, which opened on a healthy note, kept moving up but later profit taking emerged. At the end of trading, the market moved down but closed in positive zone. Not only the small investors but institutions also offloaded their holdings to pocket the available margin which pushed the market marginally down, said Javed Iqbal of Javed Iqbal Securities, while commenting on the market trend.
The jobbers' interest was significant which indicate restoration of investors' confidence in the stock business. Though, the market remained slightly dull due to settlement of future transactions but its behaviour was encouraging. The retail investors and institutions preferred profit taking during the day's trading while foreign buying helped improve the market index, he said.
On the basis of corporate results, experts are optimistic about future of the market. He was of the view that the market has enough strength to absorb minor shocks in near future. However, the investors should avoid long term investment and only pick shares at dip, he maintained.
Declining stocks were ahead of advancing ones as out of a total of 94 active issues, 22 companies registered gains, 31 went down, while 41 stayed glued to their previous levels.
Among gainers, PPL improved by Rs 4.50, OGDC appreciated by Rs 2.40, while Bank of Punjab and Javed Omer Vohra were up by Rs 2.15 and Rs 1.45, respectively. In the minus column, Adamjee Insurance declined by Rs 5.05, ICI Pak lost Rs 5.00, while PICIC and PSO were down by Rs 2.40 and Rs 2.20, respectively. OGDC was the market leader whose 5.492 million shares changed hands followed by D.G. Khan Cement with total transaction of 4.011 million shares.