LSE equities suffer losses

Mainly hit by the rapidly changing political scenario of the country, the Lahore share market suffered heavy losses with the index plunging around 6 percent, during the past week.
The week under review kicked off with a minus note amid certainty caused by the political situation, which forced investors and institutions, to keep themselves at bay from the trading activity. According to analysts, institutional support observed on last trading day of the week, but even then there was no change in the sentiment, which continued to be negative. The oversold position of the market was also a reason for the institutional support on the weekend, brokers said.
Foreign funds have withdrawn their support and are unlikely to re-enter the market before the presidential elections, they viewed. The Supreme Court decision in favour of deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif have also forced local investors to adopt an indifferent attitude ahead of the elections, brokers said.
The LSE-25 index underwent a net loss of 263.56 points to finish the week under review at 4,150.70 compared with 4,414.26. Nevertheless, turnover remained almost flat at 24.471 million shares as against 24.629 million shares.
Share prices showed negative signs on first day of the week whereas volume further decreased for lack of support from the institutional investors. The LSE-25 index, with a fresh decline of 21.64 points, finished at 4,392.62 as compared to 4,414.26 points of the past session. Turnover shrank to 18.009 million shares from 24.629 million, decreasing by 6.620 million shares. The situation was not much bad in the morning and initial hours' positive trading made people think for a smart recovery, but the market failed to make any further headway since the potential investors did not change their wait-and-see approach.
For the lack of interest was evident from the low volumes, which squeezed drastically. The bears dominated the market on the second day too where equities registered significant losses across the board amid ascending transaction volume on account of foreign selling. The LSE-25 index fell by 166.98 points to close at 4,225.64 against 4,392.62. Turnover increased to 22.930 million shares from 18.009 million shares.
MyBank and Gharibwal Cement recorded gains while all the blue chips, including Pak Oil Fields, PSO, PPL, Attock Refinery, MCB Bank, Arif Habib Securities, Javed Omer Vohra & Co, National Bank, Engro Chemical and Adamjee Insurance remained under pressure. Share prices moved both ways on the third day, however, late session recovery helped the market register fresh gains to finish with a bullish look. The LSE-25 index was registered at 4,250.19 points as compared to 4,225.64, showing a gain of 24.55 points. Volume, with a surge of 8.841 million shares, reached 31.771 million shares from 22.930 million.
Marred by uncertainty over a possible Supreme Court decision about former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's returning home, the share market plunged on the second last day of the week, losing heavily. The LSE-25, with a loss of 136.64 points, dropped to 4,113.55 points from 4,250.19. Volume, however, was almost flat at 31.376 million shares compared with past day's 31.771 million shares. The market remained under immense pressure throughout the session and the equity falls were witnessed across the board. The cement sector, PTCL and some banking stocks fared better, but on account of overall bearish sentiment their impact was minimal over the broader market.
Lucky Cement topped gainers' list on getting quality certificate from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for its exports to India. On losers' end, all key shares, including exploration sector, insurance and prime banking scrips underwent losses. The share prices inched up on last trading day of the week under review, supported by oversold position of the market, amid shrinking volume of transactions. The LSE-25 index, with 37.15 points gain, closed at 4,150.70 as against 4,113.55 points.
Total transacted volume amounted to 24.471 million shares from past day's 31.376 million shares, showing a decline of 6.904 million shares. The market took a positive start and then moved erratically but finally recovered on the back of buying interest in exploration companies shares, key banks and cements stocks. Mari Gas Company dominated the entire market proceedings followed by Lucky Cement while MCB and First Capital Equities remained under selling pressure.
The political situation is changing everyday, which has triggered uncertainty in market, therefore, the people are expected to further squeeze positions in the next week, analysts said, adding foreign investors also continue lightening their positions in view of the persisting political instability.
The PML-N central executive committee, in its meeting held in the federal capital on Saturday, have asked Nawaz Sharif to return home. "Thus I foresee further uncertainty in the market," a broker said, adding the people are advised not to cross their limits and restrict their positions to the selective and dividend-oriented scrips to avoid inconvenience.