Bullish sentiment dominated at Lahore Stock Exchange on Monday where banking sector led the rally and equities showed strength following fresh entries in potential shares. The LSE-25 index gained 35.44 points and closed at 3604.28 against 3568.84 of last Friday, while transaction volume marginally declined to 8.763 million shares as compared to previous volume of 9.076 million shares.
The market opened on a positive note and stayed in green zone throughout the day. The investors stayed on buying course and made entries in potential shares including MCB Bank, United Bank, National Bank, Habib Bank, MyBank, Bank Alfalah and Bank of Punjab of the banking sector while OGDC, Lucky Cement, D G Khan Cement, Nishat Chunian, Dewan Salman Fibre and Arif Habib Corporation also supported the market.
Attock Refinery, PSO, Pak Oilfields, Engro Corporation, Fatima Fertiliser remained under pressure while ICI Pakistan, Sui Southern, Treet Corporation, Nishat Mills and Dewan Cement also performed negatively. Of 121 active companies, 35 posted gains and 29 registered losses, while values of 57 companies stayed glued to their previous levels.
MCB Bank improved by Rs 9.71, United Bank appreciated by Rs 1.40 and SME Leasing gained Rs 1.00, while OGDC and National Bank were up by 95 paisa and 86 paisa respectively. Attock Refinery lost Rs 5.24, Treet Corporation declined by Rs 2.96 and ICI Pakistan depreciated by Rs 2.20, while PSO and Engro Corporation were down by Rs 2.12 and Rs 1.50 respectively. Dewan Salman Fibre was the market leader whose 2.081 million shares changed hands, followed by Lotte Pakistan PTA with 960,366 shares.