Equities on Monday remained under the grip of selling pressure on the Lahore Stock Exchange and suffered losses amid improved trading turnover. The LSE-25 index was marginally declined by 4.99 points to close at 4904.06 against 4909.05 of last Friday, while transaction volume was increased to 3.548 million shares compared with previous volume of 1.668 million shares.
The market was opened on a negative note and remained range-bound almost throughout the day. However, ahead of close of trading, the market was sharply declined, as investors preferred offloading of their holdings in fertilizer and energy sector to secure positions. As a result, Engro Corporation, Engro Fertilizer, Fauji Fertilizer, Hub Power and Pakgen Power remained under selling pressure while National Bank, Bank of Punjab (Right) Crescent Jute Products, Pak Elektron and Flying Cement also suffered losses.
However, buying in Treet Corporation, DG Khan Cement, Maple Leaf Cement, Dewan Cement, Mubarak Textile Mills, Nishat Mills, Avanceon Limited, Adamjee Insurance, Japan Power, and Fatima Fertilizer resisted pressure and were ended in green zone. The losers were slightly more than the gainers, as out of a total of 92 active issues, 17 companies posted gains, 18 registered declines while 57 companies remained unchanged at their last week closing.
Among gainers Treet Corporation gained Rs 4.16, DG Khan Cement was improved by Rs 2.85, while Maple Leaf Cement and Mubarak Textile Mills were up by Rs 1.38 and Re 1, respectively. Engro Corporation lost Rs 7.18, Engro Fertilizer was declined by Rs 2.21, while Fauji Fertilizer and National Bank were down by Rs 1.50 and Rs 1.48, respectively. Bank of Punjab (Right) with trading of 1.517 million shares topped the volume leaders followed by NIB Bank with 387,000 shares.