Market watch : Bourse ends flat in thin trade

Trade volumes fall to a paltry 31.2 million shares.

KARACHI: The stock market ended flat on Monday in a dismal session as investors stayed away and seemed to be taking a longer weekend than usual.

Trade volumes further fell, recording trading in only 31.2 million shares on the first trading session of the week compared with the previous trading session’s tally of 46.7 million shares.

Equities moved in both directions before ending the day unchanged on extremely low volumes primarily due to lack of triggers, said Elixir Securities equity dealer Nazim Abdul Muttalib.

The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index crawled up 0.03 per cent or 3.2 points to end at 11,356.64 points.

A suicide bomb blast at a senior police officer’s home affected investor sentiments as fears of poor law and order situation dented any major activity, added Muttalib.

Pakistan State Oil increased by 3.1% as the government announced that it would raise billions of rupees through Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) and remove circular debt, said analysts.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs24 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.

Continuing its recent rally, the fertiliser sector traded higher as expectations of a hefty payout in third-quarter results kept investor interest alive. Shares of 338 companies were traded during the session. At the end of the day, 101 stocks closed higher, 154 declined and 83 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs1.6 billion.

F.Credit Inv was the volume leader with 4.61 million shares, gaining Rs0.99 to finish at Rs6. It was followed by Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim with 2.95 million shares, firming Rs0.26 to close at Rs53.7 and Arif Habib Corporation with 1.82 million shares, losing Rs0.17 to close at Rs26.85.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 20^th,  2011.