Equities move both ways on LSE

Equities moved both ways on Lahore Stock Exchange on Wednesday and the index closed at 2108.33 points level, depicting a gain of 23.17 points following fresh entries in cement and fertiliser sectors on account of reduction in profit rates on various schemes of the National Saving Organisation.
The LSE-25 index closed at 2108.33 against 2085.16 of Tuesday, while transaction volume was restricted to 19.965 million shares as compared to last day volume of 32.854 million shares.
Engro Chemical, Fauji Fertilizer, Pak Oilfields, OGDC, Shell Pak, Kot Addu Power from oil and energy sector helped market stay in positive zone while ICI Pak, Adamjee Insurance, Lucky Cement, Maple Leaf Cement and D.G. Khan Cement also performed well.
However, National Refinery, PSO, PPL, Habib Bank, Allied Bank, National Bank, United Bank, and Askari Bank remained under pressure and closed with losses because of profit taking.
The market opened on a healthy note and registered a sharp gain of 65 points in half an hour. However, volatility was also seen and equities kept on moving up and down with a range of 30 points. Once the market touched the level of 2149 but could not sustain due to profit taking and slide down to 2108 points.
According to analysts, the market still has potential to perform well because of encouraging sentiment. They also accounted the news with regard to reduction in profit rates on different schemes of the National Saving Organisation for market closure in green zone and said the State Bank could also cut the mark up rate by two percent which would help improve activity in the stocks business.
Cement sector also attracted the investors who took interest in D.G. Khan Cement, Maple Leaf Cement and Lucky Cement on the report of significant increase in cement exports.
The gainers were more than the losers, as out of a total of 118 active issues, 50 companies maintained upward move, 26 landed in negative column, while values of 42 companies remained unchanged at their previous levels.
Among gainers, Engro Chemical posted an improvement of Rs 7.23, Pak Oilfields gain Rs 5.55, IC Pak appreciated Rs 3.78 while Adamjee Insurance and Lucky Cement were up by Rs 3.30 and Rs 2.46 respectively.
In minus column, National Refinery lost Rs 5.44, PSO was declined by Rs 4.33, PPL shed Rs 2.54 while Habib Bank and Allied Bank were up by Rs 2.02 and Rs 0.76 respectively. D.G. Khan cement was the market leader whose 2.711 million shares changed hands.