The LSE-25 index witnessed substantial improvement of 149.69 points and closed at 4174.06 against 4024.37 of last Wednesday, while trading turnover increased to 86.193 million shares as compared to 51.186 million shares traded last working day prior to market closure on account of Eid holidays. Buying was seen in selective shares of oil, banking and cement sectors, while MCB Bank and Southern Electric Power remained under pressure.
The market, which opened on a healthy note, remained in positive zone during the entire day's trading. The market had already lost considerably in pre-Eid sessions without any solid reason. The KSE-index registered decline of 900 points in pre-Eid sessions.
However, experts are of the view that the market was overpriced and technical correction was due, said Dr Shahid A. Zia, head of research of the Switch Securities. He said the State Bank's directions to commercial banks for enhancing their paid-up capital to Rs 6 billion generated interest among the investors for banking sector shares, as they are likely to issue right and bonus shares to yield good margin of profit.
As a result, Askari Commercial Bank and National Bank of Pakistan moved up and closed in the plus column. Similarly, the cement sector showed improvement and fresh buying was seen in D.G. Khan Cement, Lucky Cement, and Maple Leaf Cement, he added. He maintained that cement consumption is on rise and this, in turn, would help cement companies to improve their profitability, he said.
It was the only textile sector, which failed to perform up to the investors' expectations and trading is restricted to only selective companies.
The gainers were more than the losers, as out of a total of 78 active issues, 40 companies registered gains, only 6 landed in negative zone, while 32 stayed glued to their previous closing levels.
Adamjee Insurance improved by Rs 5.75, D.G. Khan Cement gained Rs 4.35, PICIC and Nishat Mills appreciated Rs 2.75 each, while Lucky Cement and OGDC were up by Rs 2.65 and Rs 2.60, respectively. Among the losers, MCB Bank declined by Rs 2.35, Engro Chemical lost Re 1.0, Allied Bank and United Bank depreciated Rs 0.60 and Rs 0.45, respectively.
D.G. Khan Cement was the market leader whose 13.553 million shares changed hands followed by Bank of Punjab and National Bank with total trading of 11.959 million and 11.629 million shares, respectively.