Bearish sentiments prevailed on the Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) on Monday and the equities registered declines in the absence of buying support, as investors remained on the sideline. The LSE-25 index lost 28.80 points and was closed at 3316.60 against 3345.40 of last Friday while transaction volume marginally declined to 1.823 million shares as compared to previous volume of 1.843 million shares.
The market opened on a negative sign and kept in negative zone throughout the day. The investors, who adopted "wait and see" policy, were reluctant in taking positions that resulted in low trading turnover. D.G. Khan Cement (Right), ICI Pakistan, Kot Addu Power, and Nimir Industries helped market avert more declines.
However, selling pressure was seen in Pakistan Oil Fields, Attock Refinery, MCB Bank, Habib Bank, National Bank, Bank Alfalah, Engro Corporation, Pakistan Reinsurance, Lucky Cement, D.G. Khan Cement, Fauji Fertiliser and WorldCall Telecom, as the investors preferred to get out of the market by offloading of their holdings to secure positions.
The declining stocks were ahead of declining ones. Of 104 active issues, 21 companies posted gains, 36 registered losses, while values of 47 companies stayed glued to their previous levels. D.G. Khan Cement (Right) registered a gain of Rs 4.54, Pakistan Refinery was improved by Rs 2.50, Dawood Hercules Chemical was appreciated by Rs 1.60 while ICI Pakistan was up by Rs 1.39.
Pakistan Oil Fields lost Rs 3.33, MCB Bank was declined by Rs 1.76, D.G. Khan Cement was depreciated by Rs 1.28, while Habib Bank was down by Rs 1.25. Bank of Punjab was the market leader whose 381,727 shares changed hands followed by Nimir Industrial Chemical with 288,600 shares.