Bullish sentiments continued prevail on the Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) for the second consecutive day on Friday and the equities extended further gains amid ascending transaction volume on account of fresh buying. The LSE-25 index gained 26.95 points and was ended at 3568.84 points against 3541.89 points of Thursday, while trading turnover was improved to 9.075 million shares, as compared to 6.594 million shares traded a day earlier.
The market opened on a positive sign and stayed in green zone during first trading session. The investors stayed on buying course and picked shares of the banking sector. MCB Bank, Habib Bank, United Bank, National Bank, Allied Bank, Bank Alfalah, Askari Bank and Bank of Punjab from the banking sector helped market sentiments, while Pakistan Oil Fields, Treet Corporation, Millat Tractors, Lotte Pakistan, D.G. Khan Cement, Dewan Salman Fibre and Arif Habib Corporation also performed well.
The market witnessed profit taking during the second trading session, as investors offloaded their holdings ahead of weekend to secure their positions. As a result, the oil and energy sector shares like Attock Refinery, PPL, Sui Northern, Sui Southern, and Kot Addu Power remained under pressure, while Engro Corporation, Javed Omer Vohra and Company and Maple Leaf Cement also suffered losses.
The gainers were considerably more than the losers, as out of a total of 124 traded companies, 46 registered gains, 11 landed in minus column, while 67 companies stayed glued to their previous levels. Among gainers, Service Industries was improved by Rs 12.99, Millat Tractors gained Rs 6.51, Habib Bank was appreciated by Rs 5.40, while MCB Bank and Pak Oil Fields were up by Rs 2.76 and Rs 2.61, respectively.
In the minus column, Attock Refinery lost Rs 6.19, Sui Northern was declined by Rs 1.19, while Sui Southern and PPL were depreciated by 97-paisa and 58-paisa, respectively. Lotte Pakistan PTA was the market leader whose 2.788 million shares changed hands followed by National Bank with 742,823 shares.