Lahore stock market remains bearish

The Lahore stock market remained bearish during the week ended on April 26, 2009 and the LSE-25 index lost 4.38 percent mainly on account of profit taking and the worsening law and order situation in parts of NWFP and Balochistan.
The LSE-25 index slid down to 2217.28 points from previous week's 2318.81, depicting a fall of 103.53 points. Transaction volume also decreased to 143.451 million shares as compared to previous volume of 189.103 million shares.
The market showed upward move on Monday and Friday while it remained depressed on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Heavy selling was seen in banking, oil, cement and fertilizer sectors, as the investors kept on offloading their position to get out of the market.
On Monday, the index gained 33.50 points amid rising trading turnover on account of encouraging news regarding the substantial amount of pledges announced at the Friends of Pakistan's conference held in Tokyo. NIB Bank, Bank Alfalah, Bank of Punjab, National Bank, MCB Bank, Engro Chemical, Adamjee Insurance and PSO helped the market stay in green zone. Moreover, hopes of reduction in the mark up rate in the State Bank's new monetary policy also encouraged the investors to stay on buying course.
On Tuesday, equities started declining on account of profit taking. The index slipped by 48.35 points amid considerable increase in the volume of 39 million shares. Selling pressure was seen in National Bank, MCB Bank, Habib Bank, Bank Alfalah, NIB Bank, PSO, PPL, Pak Oilfields, and OGDC. However, United Bank, Bank of Punjab, Fauji Fertilizer and Engro Chemical, Attock Refinery, Adamjee Insurance, Lucky Cement and D.G. Khan Cement resisted the pressure. Experts attributed declines to technical correction that had become due because of persistent rise in recent past.
On Wednesday, equities further extended losses amid reduced trading turnover on account of worsening law and order situation in the country, particularly in Balochistan and NWFP areas. Investors put their stocks on sale to secure their position amid panic-like situation due to news regarding Taliban's control in Buner. The index fell by 99.44 because of heavy selling in MCB Bank, Habib Bank, Bank Alfalah, NIB Bank, Bank of Punjab, National Bank, PSO, PPL, Shell Pak, Pak Oilfields, Engro Chemical, D.G. Khan Cement and Fauji Cement. Moreover, terrorist threat to hit English medium schools also created panic among investors who stayed away from the buying course.
On Thursday, bears tightened control to stay in driving seat for the third consecutive day which pushed the index down 86 points. Oil and banking shares remained under pressure and closed with losses.
On Friday, the market showed recovery with an increase in the shares volume. The index gained about 100 points that led the investors to expect more bullish rallies in the current week.