Bullish sentiments prevailed on the Lahore Stock Exchange on Thursday and the equities staged recovery amid decreased trading turnover due to lacking interest on the part of investors. The LSE-25 index gained 24.16 points to close at 4960.78 against 4936.62 of Wednesday while transaction volume was squeezed to 2.529 million shares compared with day earlier volume of 3.656 million shares.
The market was opened on a depressed note and witnessed vertical decline. After taking a dip, market took upward turn and continued to stay in green zone till close of trading. Glaxo Smith Kline, PSO, Highnoon Laboratories, Engro Foods, Habib Bank, Bank of Punjab, Faysal Bank, Adamajee Insurance, Maple Leaf Cement, D.G. Khan Cement, Fauji Cement, Lafarge Pakistan Cement, Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim, Nishat Chunian and PIAC helped market closing on positive sign.
However, Attock Refinery, Byco Petroleum, Engro Corporation, National Bank, MCB Bank, Bank Alfalah, Crescent Steel and Allied, OGDC, Fatima Fertiliser and Pakistan Reinsurance remained under pressure because of profit taking. The gainers were more than the losers. Of 95 active issues, 30 companies posted gains, 15 stayed in negative column, while 50 companies remained unchanged at their last day closing.
Glaxo Smith Kline was improved by Rs 6.20, PSO was appreciated by Rs 5.50, Highnoon Laboratories gained Rs 5.08 while Engro Foods and Habib bank were up by Rs 2.59 and Rs 2.44, respectively. Attock Refinery lost Rs 4.90, Engro Corporation was declined by Rs 2.30, National Bank shed 96-paisa while Crescent Steel and Allied was down by 65-paisa. Bank of Punjab was the market leader whose 589,500 shares changed hands followed by Byco Petroleum with 532,500 shares.