The share market has undergone a massive battering mainly because of a technical correction brokers say it has stemmed from the continuous upsurge after the February 18 elections. The LSE-25 Index on Friday plunged by 67.77 points to reach 4,841.66 from past day's 4,909 points.
The volume decreased to 28.799 million shares from 34.426 million of Thursday, registering a fall of 5.627 million shares. Initially the market showed positive signs, but later pressure emerged in key shares, which led it to downwards. Till close of the first session, the market came under pressure with the key equities undergoing heavy losses, analysts said.
According to them, after setting new high record, the KSE underwent a wide- ranging correction and the LSE also followed this trend. The KSE today, with a loss of over 143 points, closed below 15,000 level.
Fertilisers, securities stocks and refineries were key gainers of the day while major banking stocks painted a mixed picture. Brokers said the market could take a few days more to digest the impact of the correction, but any positive political development could change the situation even earlier.
Apart from correction, which is a healthy sign, the market sentiment was depressed because of the uncertainty with regard to formation of new government, Mirza Muhammad Irfan of Capital Vision Securities Ltd said. He said till this time no body knows who is going to form the government and with whose help, he stated.
Today, some of the banking stocks performed well on the basis of their results with HBL reaching its upper cap limit. He said delay in formation of new political setup had caused uncertainty among the investors and the market had also failed to take advantage of positive corporate results.
The National Bank declared 10 percent bonus and Rs 7.5 cash dividend but even then it failed to make any headway, Irfan said. He said rumours of re-audit of accounts of the Bank of Punjab also sent negative vibes in the market. If the correction continues for another few sessions, the price levels cold turn attractive for fresh buying, he pointed out.
Overall, there were 18 gainers against 44 losers with 53 unchanged, of a total of 115 scrips changing hands on the day. Among top advancing stocks, Habib Bank was up Rs 14.65, Fauji Fertiliser Rs 2.00, Arif Habib Securities, Bank Al-Habib and Taj Textile Mills Re 1.00 each. In red zone, MCB Bank lost Rs 22.45, Adamjee Insurance Rs 16.50, Shell Gas LPG Pakistan Rs 8.35, Central Insurance Company Rs 7.00 and National Bank Rs 6.55. Bank of Punjab and Fauji Fertiliser were the volume leaders with 6.920 million and 2.975 million shares.