Equities turned mixed on the Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) on Wednesday since main players held positions, awaiting the judgement of the Supreme Court about holding two offices simultaneously by President General Pervez Musharraf. Although the market ended an upbeat note, trade activity remained low and the gains were just marginal.
The LSE-25 index finished at 4,547.71 points as opposed to previous day's 4,536.61, showing an improvement of 11.10 points. Turnover amounted to 22.006 million shares versus 20.895 million shares, registering a surge of Rs 1.110 million shares.
The sentiment was bullish, but for lack of interest from the big players, the market failed to make any breakthrough, analysts said. The people kept waiting for the announcement of the Supreme Court's decision which was expected to be announced on Wednesday, but the apex court adjourned the hearing for Thursday (today), they added.
Confusion about the resignations of the APDM, government-PPP deal and SC judgement forced majority of people to stay away and hold portions till settlement of these issues, they added. However, according to them, buying interest was seen in Adamjee Insurance, Engro Chemical and banks, which scored substantial gains while the oil sector, notably Mari Gas and National Refinery underwent pressure.
The sentiment seems good and fundamentals are strong, but political uncertainty is not allowing people to take risks at this stage, said Mirza Muhammad Irfan of Invest & Finance Securities Ltd.
He said that apart from worries over the political uncertainty, a disturbing news was about the issuance of a long list of inquiry by India for Pakistan cements importers. Although it was a negative development, it had little impact on the cement stocks, he said. The insurance and banking sectors on Wednesday performed better while the former reached its upper cap limit, he pointed out. In the oil sector, OGDC moved ahead in initial trading, but later came under pressure, he stated.
In all 109 scrips changed hands, of which, 30 were up, 32 landed in minus column, while 47 were intact to their overnight levels. Among major gainers, Adamjee Insurance gained Rs 6.70, Engro Chemical Rs 6.70, MCB Bank Rs 5.25, Habib Bank Rs 4.70, and Allied Bank Rs 4.10.
In minus column, Mari Gas Company shed Rs 12.90, National Refinery Rs 11.00, PSO Rs 4.10, Orix Leasing Rs 2.25, and ICI Pakistan Rs 1.65. Bosicor Pakistan and Bank Alfalah were the volume leaders with 3.792 million and 2.567 million shares, respectively.
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