Bearish sentiment dominated the Lahore Stock Exchange on Wednesday and equities registered declines amid decreased trading turnover due to lack of interest on the part of investors who remained on sidelines. The LSE-25 index lost 25.78 points and closed at 2802.78 points against 2828.56 points of Tuesday, while transaction volume reduced to 896,571 shares as compared to 1.237 million shares.
The market commenced trading on a positive sign but stayed in green zone for less than an hour. It started moving down following offloading by investors who preferred to secure their positions. Most of them were reluctant to take positions. That resulted in low trading. PSO, Dawood Hercules Chemical, Nishat Chunian, Fatima Fertiliser and Arif Habib Corporation recorded insignificant gains while Attock Refinery, Pakistan Oilfields, Byco Petroleum, Engro Corporation, Fauji Fertiliser, Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim, Tri-Pack Films, National Bank, MCB Bank, Bank of Punjab, Nishat Mills, D.G. Khan Cement and Lotte Pakistan PTA registered losses.
The losers were more than the gainers. Of 95 active companies, 9 posted gains and 18 went down, while 68 companies remained unchanged. PSO gained Rs 2.40, Dawood Hercules Chemical improved by 85 paisa, Nishat Chunian gained 38 paisa and Fatima Fertiliser was up by 35 paisa.
Tri-Pak Films lost Rs 5.18, Engro Corp declined by Rs 2.58, Fauji Fertiliser depreciated by Rs 2.19, Attock Refinery shed Rs 1.32 and Pakistan Oilfields was down by Re 1.00. Silk Bank topped the volume leaders with trading of 279,945 shares, while Bank of Punjab stayed as runner-up with 83,266 shares.