The KSE-100 index rose 29.52 points, or 0.34 percent, to 8693.54 from 8664.02. The volume rose to 465 million shares as against 430 million shares of Monday.
Once again, the market remained range-bound for the whole day, unable to set a trend. The market opened on a positive note, surged by over 40 points, and then slipped to make an intra-day low of 8636.65 points.
Tariq Hussain Khan, research analyst at Atlas Investment Bank, said that volatility was the order of the day, whereby the index swung between a band of approximately 100 points remaining in positive territory for most of the day. The major setback received by the market was from the continued selling pressure in NBP and Faysal Bank as weak holders might have reduced their positions prior to a holiday that would be observed on Wednesday. OGDC and MCB closed in negative territory, whereas extraordinary positive activity was witnessed in PTCL.
Surprisingly, all cement stocks like Fauji, DGKC, LUCK and MPCL closed in the green zone.
Total 181 companies closed in positive territory while 121 closed in the red. PTCL was the major contributor as it generated 21 points. Tanvir Abid, head of research at Live Securities, said that the market opened on a positive note, but the index temporarily lost its uphill course due to the profit taking in several notable scrips.
Nonetheless, PTCL and cement sector scrips buoyed the market. PTCL performed exceptionally well on the back of reports that the talks were making progress in United Arab Emirates to rescue Pakistan's flagship $2.6 billion privatisation and a positive announcement in this regard could come in a few days. The Telecom giant surged 2.2 percent to close at Rs 61.60. On the other hand, cement sector scrips also continued their buoyant rally. Fauji Cement, D G Khan Cement, Lucky Cement and Maple Leaf Cement posted respective increments at 3.5 percent, 1.6 percent, 1.9 percent and 1.3 percent. However, banking and energy sector scrips showed a mixed trend.
Hasnain Asghar from Aziz Fidahusein said that cement stocks after initial trimming of excess fat made their way back into the main stream and the sector continued to lead the show. The petroleum giant PSO on anticipation that the stock would maintain its earnings for the year 2005-06 invited buyers. While rumours-led show on PTCL continued as optimists expected a positive and immediate outcome of the meeting being held in Abu Dhabi.
Technically, the index failed to breach its immediate resistance of 8733-8737 and after making a high of 8737 the index close below psychological 8700. Technically, therefore, the index would continue to face resistance around 8733-8737 while support stays at 8590-8596.
Ammar Ali, research analyst from Abamco Ltd, said that the market remained significantly volatile earlier in the day. Although it later stabilised its hold in the green zone, the negative movement in NBP, MCB and OGDC constricted the gains to a minimum. The Abamco30 index rose by 30.34 points (0.47 percent) to close at 6,479.39 as against 6,449.06 of Monday. PTCL stood as the major positive contributor to both indices on hopes that progress was being made to finalise the privatisation deal with Etisalat.
The scrip contributed 12 points (40 percent) to the positive side of the Abamco30 and also pulled up the KSE-100 by 21 points (70 percent). Another major contributor to the Abamco30 was FFC with 8 points (27 percent), while considerable gains were realised from a number of other scrips such as PSO, Hubco and SSGC. However, the positive movement was significantly dampened by the negative movement in NBP and MCB, which together dragged the index down by 19 points.
Similarly, the KSE-100 experienced gains from a number of scrips, but the strong negative movement in heavyweights OGDC and NBP weakened the index by 26 points, keeping gains to a minimum. Volumes continued to grow as investors were kept on their toes by the volatile market and ongoing negotiations in the PTCL deal.