Market watch: Earnings announcements spark investor interest

Trading volumes jump to 110 million shares as index gains 17 points.

KARACHI:

The bourse recorded yet another range-bound session on Tuesday with better-than-expected corporate results providing late impetus to the market.

The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) 100-share index rose 0.15 per cent or 17.44 points to end at 11,933.46 points.

Trade volumes surged to more than 110.35 million shares, compared with the previous day’s seven-month low of 45.49 million shares.

Result-based activity was witnessed as investors opted to deal in selected stocks before the upcoming federal budget, said Topline Securities equity dealer Samar Iqbal. A better-than-expected result by Lotte Pakistan PTA was welcomed by investors, as the stock contributed 54 per cent to the total trading volume and closed at its upper limit for the day.

The banking sector saw mixed fortunes, as MCB Bank gained 1.95 per cent after announcing handsome earnings, while National Bank of Pakistan saw selling pressure after a below par result.

Formation of an alliance between the federal government and PML-Q sparked talk of political stability, while expectations of early release of the International Monetary Fund’s fifth loan tranche played the role of a catalyst in positive activity, despite concerns over rising inflation, said Arif Habib Investments Director Ahsan Mehanti.

Shares of 365 companies were traded on Tuesday. At the end of the day, 137 stocks closed higher, 151 declined and 77 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs2.61 billion.

In the volumes chart, Lotte Pakistan was followed by DG Khan Cement with 4.49 million shares, losing Rs0.08 to close at Rs4, Jahangir Siddiqui and Company with 3.75 million shares, losing Rs0.05 to close at Rs7.05 and Namco Balance Fund with 3.22 million shares, unchanged from the previous day’s close of Rs4.6.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 27^th, 2011.