Equities on Thursday moved both ways on the Lahore Stock Exchange and finally settled in negative zone amid descending transaction volume on account of lack of interest on the part of investors. The LSE-25 index was declined to 4579.91 against 4624.98 of Wednesday, showing a fall of 45.07 points while transaction volume was squeezed to 7.174 million shares compared with last day volume of 11.254 million shares.
The market opened on a mixed note and remained range-bound during early trading hours. Once the market witnessed sharp rise but could not sustain in the absence of buying interest, as investors preferred to remain on the sideline. Engro Foods, Habib Bank, Bank Alfalah, Nishat Mills, Nishat Chunian, NetSol Technologies, Pak Elektron, OGDC, PPL AND Glaxo Smith Kline helped market avert more declines, while PSO, Attock Refinery, Pakgen Power, MCB Bank, National Bank, Bank of Punjab, Engro Corporation, Pakistan National Shipping Corporation, Honda Atlas Cars, Fauji Fertiliser, D.G. Khan Cement, Maple Leaf Cement, Fauji Cement, Lafarge Pakistan Cement and WorldCall Telecom remained under selling pressure.
The losers were more than the gainers. Of 94 active companies 17 companies posted gains, 46 stayed in negative zone while 31 companies were closed at their day earlier closing. Engro Food gained Rs 3.03, Habib Bank was improved by Rs 2.06, Nishat Mills was appreciated by Rs 2.03 while Nishat Chunian and NetSol Technologies were up by Rs 1.81 and Rs 1.48, respectively.
PSO lost Rs 3.50, MCB Bank was declined by Rs 2.51, Engro Corporation shed Rs 2.50 while Pakistan National Shipping and Attock Refinery were down by Rs 2.38 and Rs 1.94, respectively. Bank of Punjab (R) was the market leader whose 3.721 million shares changed hands followed by Bank of Punjab with 1.201 million shares.