The market remained range-bound, but unprecedented activity was witnessed in ICI, which was fuelled by the expected selling of Pak PTA holding by the company.
The index recorded some gains on the weekend and, after a long gap, the volume crossed the 200 million mark, said Salman Ahmad, equity dealer at Aba Ali Habib Securities.
The market in the coming week was likely to show gains and was in dire need of some positive news to build a fresh upward rally, he added.
Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim managed to top the bunch, as it is geared to meet demands of the Rabi season. Investors maintained their buying spree in Bank of Punjab. However, profit taking in the second session took the scrip into the red.
The market managed to thrive on its positive gains till session's end, said Cyra Patricia from Live Securities. A perfect start was purely the result of the behaviour of the index as it had closed on its high in the previous session. "We expect to see scanty profit taking across the board next week. However, we remain positive due to increase in turnover."
Humbal Haroon from Akbarally Cassim said that the market opened on a positive note as Bank of Punjab opened on a very strong position. It was expected that the Bank would be the scrip of the day. However, this did not happen as selling pressure soon erupted. ICI closed at limit up, as of change of management overwhelmed investors. The bull-run on Friday seemed artificial as the market did not sustain the entire upswing. It is advisable to be very cautious in approaching the market.
FF Bin Qasim rose 40 paisa to Rs 22.45 on a volume of 23 million shares; Bank of Punjab fell 30 paisa to Rs 67.75 on turnover of 22 million shares; Askari Bank moved up to Rs 82.15 from Rs 80.75 on trading of 20 million shares; ICI finished at Rs 91.45, ie higher by Rs 6.05 to Rs 91.45 on trading of 19 million shares; and D.G. Khan Cement rose 10 paisa to Rs 57.25 on deals of 13 million shares.