Mixed sentiments prevailed on the Lahore Stock Exchange on Wednesday where equities registered gains amid decreased trading turnover due to lacking interest on the part of buyers. The LSE-25 index was improved by 9.64 points to close at 4149.75 against 4140.11 of Tuesday, while transaction volume was squeezed to 3.811 million shares compared with the day earlier volume of 6.544 million shares.
The market was opened on a mixed note and remained range-bound till midday that resulted in low trading activity. However, just a couple of hours before close of trading, the investors started making entries in select shares that dragged the market into positive zone. As a result, Engro Foods, Thal Limited, Adamjee Insurance, Attock Refinery, OGDC, PPL, Engro Corporation, Nishat Chunian, Honda Atlas Cars, DG Khan Cement, Lafarge Pakistan Cement, Fauji Cement, Maple Leaf Cement and Dewan Cement registered gains.
However, Fauji Fertiliser, Fatima Fertiliser, Dawood Hercules Corporation, Pakistan Reinsurance, Pak Elektron, Arif Habib Corporation, Bank of Punjab, Nishat Mills and Faysal Bank remained under pressure. The gainers were more than the losers, as out of a total of 105 active companies, 28 registered gains, 18 went down, while 59 companies remained unchanged at their last day closing. Engro Foods was improved by Rs 6.54, Thal Limited gained Rs 4.92, Adamjee Insurance was appreciated by Rs 3.45, while Attock Refinery and Engro Corporation were up by Rs 1.9 and Rs 1.86 respectively.
Packages Limited lost Rs 2.21, Fauji Fertiliser was declined by Rs 1.7, Pakistan Reinsurance was depreciated by Rs 1.11, while Pak Elektron and Fatima Fertiliser were down by 40-paisa each. Lafarge Pakistan Cement with trading of 1.133 million shares topped the volume leaders followed by Fauji Cement with 452,000 shares.