Bearish sentiments dominated on the Lahore Stock Exchange on Friday and the equities registered declines across the board amid decreased trading turnover due to lacking interest on the part of investors who remained on the sideline. The LSE-25 index lost 25.47 points and was ended at 3616.45 against 3641.92 of Thursday while transaction volume was restricted to 0.961 million shares as compared to last day volume of 1.667 million shares.
The market was opened on a depressed note and kept on moving down throughout the day in the absence of buying interest. The lacking interest on the part of investors resulted in low trading activity, as investors avoided taking positions ahead of weekend. PPL, Fauji Fertiliser, Engro Corporation, Fatima Fertiliser, National Bank, Askari Bank, Bank Alfalah, Arif Habib Corporation, PTCL, WorldCall Telecom, Pakistan Reinsurance and Pervez Ahmed Securities witnessed selling pressure on account of profit taking. However, PSO, D G Khan Cement, Fauji Cement, Maple Leaf Cement, Lotte Pakistan PTA and Byco Petroleum were ended with marginal gains.
The losers were considerably more than the gainers, as out of a total of 80 active issues, six companies posted gains, 18 went down, while 56 companies remained unchanged at their previous closing. PSO gained Rs 1.18, D G Khan Cement was improved by 20-paisa Fauji Cement was appreciated by 17-paisa while Maple Leaf Cement and Lotte Pakistan PTA were up by 10-paisa each.
In the negative column, PPL lost Rs 1.4, Fauji Fertiliser was declined by Rs 1.05, Engro Corporation was depreciated by 76-paisa, National Bank shed 42-paisa while Arif Habib Corporation and Fatima Fertiliser were down by 30-paisa each. Maple Leaf Cement topped the volume leaders with trading of 339,500 shares followed by Fauji Cement with 112,000 shares.