Market Watch: Stock market ends range-bound in dull session

Trade volumes once again decline to dismal level of 20 million shares.

KARACHI:

In the absence of any trigger investors stayed on the sidelines on Tuesday for the second straight day.

The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index crept up 0.01 per cent or 1.03 points to end at the 11,311.38 point level compared with a gain of 10 points on Monday. The value of shares traded rose from 16-month low but still at dismal level of Rs0.68 billion.

Resentment soon became apparent in after the Federal Board of Revenue rejected any possibility of relaxation in capital gains tax while stressing over inquiry about investors record from date of imposition of capital gains tax, said Elixir Securities equity dealer Sibtain Mustafa.

Among listed fertilizer, Fauji Fertilizer Company firmed 1% after reports of company increasing Rs100 per bag price on its urea bag prices. The price increase was expected after fellow peers Engro and Fatima Fertilizer raised their respective retail urea bag prices following on going gas curtailment.

Trade volumes once again painted a very grim picture with 20 million shares compared with Monday’s tally of 13 million shares.

On the contrary, oil stocks have recently witnessed declining volumes after rumours of drop in production numbers from Domial-I well.

Shares of 300 companies were traded on Tuesday. At the end of the day 86 stocks closed higher, 104 declined while 110 remained unchanged.

Fatima Fertilizer Company was the volume leader with 3.3 million shares declining Rs0.16 to finish at Rs22.96. It was followed by Arif Habib Corporation with 1.56 million shares falling Rs0.27 to close at Rs26.7 and Pakistan Reinsurance with 1.03 million shares gaining Rs0.06 to close at Rs14.56.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 28^th, 2011.