Bearish sentiments prevailed on the Lahore Stock Exchange on Thursday and the equities registered losses amid selling pressure in the bluechips. The LSE-25 index was declined to 4050.19 against 4234.05 of Wednesday, showing a fall of 183.86 points, while transaction volume of 3.74 million shares as compared to last day volume of 2.999 million shares.
The market was opened on a depressed note and remained range-bound almost throughout the day's trading. However, ahead of close of trading, the market was sharply declined due to selling pressure in bluechips and ready board shares. As a result, PSO, Attock Refinery, PPL, KESC, from the oil and energy sector and Engro Corporation and Fauji Fertiliser from the fertiliser industry remained under pressure. Similarly, MCB Bank, NetSol Technologies, DG Khan Cement, Engro Foods, Bank of Punjab, and PTCL also suffered losses. Dandot Cement, IGI Investment, KASB Bank, Pakistan Reinsurance, Adamjee Insurance, Nimir Industrial Chemical, Nishat Power, Summit Bank and Engro Polymer and Chemical resisted pressure and ended with marginal gains.
The losers were more than the gainers, as out of a total of 92 active issues, 16 companies posted gains, 39 went down, while 37 companies stayed glued to their previous closing levels. Among gainers, Dandot Cement was improved by Re 1, while Tariq Glass and IGI Investment gained 54-paisa and 41-paisa respectively. In the minus column, PSO lost Rs 5, Attock Refinery was declined by Rs 2.63, PPL shed Rs 2, while Engro Corporation and MCB Bank were down by Rs 1.69 and Rs 1.19 respectively. NIB Bank was the market leader whose 1.011 million shares changed hands followed by Silk Bank with 416,500 shares.