Equities on Friday moved both ways on the Lahore Stock Exchange and finally stayed in negative zone due to selling pressure on account of profit taking ahead of weekend. The LSE-25 index lost 27.88 points and was ended at 3443.96 against 3471.84 of Thursday while transaction volume was squeezed to 1.164 million shares compared with last day volume of 1.318 million shares.
The market was opened on a positive sign and stayed in green zone during first trading session following buying in MCB Bank, Askari Bank, Silk Bank, Fatima Fertiliser, Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim, Sui Northern and Hira Textile Mills. However, as soon as the second session commenced, the investors started offloading of their holdings to secure their positions ahead of weekend. As a result, selling pressure was seen in Engro Corporation, Fauji Fertiliser, Engro Foods, D.G. Khan Cement, Nishat Mills, National Bank, Bank Alfalah, Bank of Punjab, Byco Petroleum and PTCL. The losers were more than the gainers, as out of total 91 active issues, 10 companies posted gains, 21 registered losses, while 60 companies remained unchanged at their previous closing.
Among gainers, MCB Bank was improved by Rs 1.50, Fatima Fertiliser gained 37-paisa while Sui Northern and Hira Textile Mills were up by 34-paisa and 25-paisa, respectively. In the negative column, Engro Corporation lost Rs 1.99, Engro Foods was declined by Rs 1.39 while Fauji Fertiliser and D.G. Khan Cement were down by 83-paisa and 79-paisa respectively. NIB Bank with trading of 242,510 shares changed hands followed by Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim with 139,565 shares.