The share market moved in a very tight band with further decline in trade turnover, which the analysts said, was due to isolation of potential investors in view of political reasons as well as fears of expanding the scope of FBI investigation of local brokers.
The LSE-25 index lost 12.93 points to 4458.20 from 4471.13 of the previous session. Trade volume squeezed to 16.756 million shares from 21.325 million shares, registering a decline of 4.568 million shares.
With a bearish start, the market kept moving in a very tight range amid negligibly short-ranging fluctuation due to lack of investors participation. Caused by the persisting political situation, uncertainty prevails in the market and nobody seems willing to go for long deals, a broker said.
Activity has also slowed down due to worries of federal budget, expected to be announced early next month, he added. The MCB Bank and the PPL gained strength and added to their worth on Monday while Adamjee Insurance and Arif Habib Securities suffered losses, he said.
The FBI probe fear has further choked business, which was already down on account of the political scenario, said Mirza Muhammad Irfan, equity research head of Capital Vision Securities Ltd.
According to reports, an FBI team has arrived in Pakistan to probe the possible involvement of Pakistani business, including brokers, in the US financial scam. Similarly, prevailing tension in Islamabad after reports of operations in Lal Masjid has also sent shock waves in the market and this is a reason for dullness of the market, he pointed out.
He, however, said that foreign investors are still engaged in stock business and are taking advantage of the attractive levels. Although SCRA figure has shown some decline recently yet the presence of foreign investors in the market is visible as a major source of resisting the complete market disaster, said Irfan.
Out of a total of 159 scrips changed hands on the floor, there were 15 gainers against 44 losers, with another 100 remaining unchanged. Among key gainers, MCB Bank improved by Rs 1.80, PPL Rs 1.70, Bank Alfalah 50 paisa, PSO and Pakistan Industrial Credit 35 paisa each.
In the red zone, Adamjee Insurance lost Rs 10.00, Arif Habib Securities Rs 3.55, Javed Omer Vohra Rs 2.05, Nishat Mills Rs 1.90, and National Bank Rs 1.80. Bank Alfalah and Bank of Punjab led the proceedings by volume with 4.247 million and 1.557 million shares, respectively.