Stock
Karachi Stocks Down 19.83 Points:
KARACHI, Mar 27: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 13273.29, down 19.83 points.
KARACHI, Mar 27: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 13273.29, down 19.83 points.
March 27, 2012
5 TOP GAINERS &
LOOSERS
Nestle Pakistan |
Rs 114.58 |
Colgate Palmolive |
Rs (45.13) |
Indus Dyeing |
Rs 18.43 |
Unilever Pakistan |
Rs (19.00) |
Mithchell’s Fruit |
Rs 8.53 |
Bata Pakistan |
Rs (11.27) |
MCB Bank Ltd |
Rs 4.50 |
PICT |
Rs (5.09) |
EFU General |
Rs 4.04 |
Island Textile |
Rs (3.49) |
Equities settle above 13,400-level
KARACHI, March 27: Shares at the Karachi Stock Exchange rallied on Tuesday led by the low-priced scrips that pushed KSE-100 index above the 13,400 level.
Trading interest dominated any concerns over the law and order situation. Investors were enthusiastic about rumours over some positive news by the end of current week, on the reformed Capital Gains Tax implementation regime from April 1.
Samar Iqbal, equity dealer at Topline Securities, said that the activity was concentrated in mid and big capped stocks.
Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corporation observed that the stocks turned bullish based on institutional interest in blue-chip cement, oil and banking stocks on hopes for improvement in Pak-US relations following the meeting of Pakistan Prime Minister with US President in Seoul for joint efforts on nuclear safety.Sibtain Mustafa, analyst at Elixir Securities, mentioned that banking stocks steered the index with National Bank NBP ending the day at its upper-lock with whispers of foreign buying.
Following the momentum, majority of banking stocks bounced from the lows as speculative money found its way. Investors continued to build positions primarily on expectations of higher earnings and low provisioning in quarterly results.
The KSE-100 index gained 163 points on Tuesday to close the day’s trading at 13,449.73 points. Volume of business scaled to 352.8 million shares, up from 278.0 million shares a day earlier.
The highest gainers for the day were Nestle Pakistan, which rose by Rs114.58 to close at Rs4,476.41, followed by Indus Dyeing up by Rs18.43 to Rs411.85. The largest falls were recorded in Colgate Palmolive down by Rs45.13 to Rs857.48 and Unilever Pakistan Ltd declining by Rs19 to Rs5,681.00.
In a total of 375 active issues, 204 shares ended in the plus column; 113 in minus and 58 shares remained unchanged.
Among the most active issues, WorldCall Telecom topped with trading in 27.7 million shares, up by 22 paisa to close at Rs3.30.
It was followed by Azgard Nine showing turnover of 26.4 million shares, higher by Re1 to end at Rs9.87.
Fauji Cement saw trading in 24.3 million shares, up 25 paisa to Rs5.55; NIB Bank Limited down 2 paisa to Rs2.80 on 17.3 million shares; Lafarge Pakistan gaining 19 paisa to Rs3.97 on 16.5 million shares; D.G. Khan Cement up by Rs1.59 to end at Rs33.69 on 14.8 million shares; Japan Power adding 36 paisa to Rs2.07 on 13.0 million shares; Bank Alfalah up 60 paisa to Rs15.18 on 10.7 million shares; SilkBank edged higher by 7 paisa to Rs2.92 on 10 million shares and TRG Pakistan down 23 paisa to Rs4.18 on 9.8 million shares.
FUTURES CONTRACTS: On the Futures counter, D.G. Khan Cement March contract, led with gains of Rs1.57 to end at Rs33.74 on 3.5 million shares. Its April contract also jumped Rs1.60 to Rs34.08 on 3.2 million shares.
National Bank of Pakistan was up by Rs1.87 to Rs40.99 on 1.3 million shares. Arif Habib Corporation Limited also saw strong gains with its March contract up Rs1.03 to close at Rs32.42 on 1.9 million shares and its April contract up by Rs1.20 to close at Rs32.64 on 1.7 million shares.
Demutualisation Bill 2009 passed
Minister for Religious Affairs Syed Khursheed Ahmad Shah piloted the said bill to the House. This is the first bill to be approved in the joint session of Parliament after the 18th Amendment.
The bill gives out a positive signal to investors and other stake holders that the excessive control enjoyed by brokers over the stock markets would end.
Though welcomed by stakeholders including the corporate sector regulator and stock markets, some brokers of the Karachi Stock Exchange have termed the demutualisation of stock exchanges a ‘theoretical effort’ that would not have any significant impact on capital markets.
“The bill will not create activity overnight in the markets. Many factors including security are needed to reinstate investor confidence,” said Director KSE Yasin Lakhani.
“Demutualisation would lead to more bureaucratic involvements in the affairs of the capital markets,” he added.
However, passing of the Demutualisation Law has been welcomed by the management of Islamabad Stock Exchange and Lahore Stock Exchange.
MD Islamabad Stock Exchange Mian Ayaz Afzal welcomed the decision and said that the law would bring more transparency in capital markets which would lead to a higher degree of trust among the investors.
“Currently the stock exchanges have become elite clubs and the doors are not open for everybody. This is the beginning of a new era for capital markets but the results will be visible in short time period”
He said that due to lack of resources, the exchanges have not been able to grow as per the market potentials, while the trading activity remained limited to three cities with the major share going to KSE.
An official of SECP said that Demutualisation Law provides a framework for the corporatisation and integration of the stock exchanges.
“Twenty percent shares of the stock exchanges would be owned by the general public,” said Chairman SECP Muhammad Ali.
“The most significant benefit of demutualisation is that the supervision and enforcement in stock exchanges will not be in the hands of the brokers. It will also assist in expansion of market outreach, resulting in larger number of investors, improved liquidity and better price discovery. Besides, a demutualised stock exchange will be in a better position to attract international strategic partners and good quality issuers,” Ali commented.
The law requires the stock exchanges to be demutualised within 119 days of its promulgation.
Presently the Pakistani stock exchanges are operating as non-profit companies with a mutualised structure where the members have ownership as well as trading rights. This structure creates conflict of interest as members predominantly control the affairs of the stock exchange which results in lack of transparency in the operations and compromises investors’ interest.
Senior member of KSE, Arif Habib while welcoming the Demutualisation Law, downplayed the notion that business would shift away from KSE.
“The role and responsibilities of managements of stock exchanges have increased. Now it is up to the professional management of the stock exchanges to invite new investors and ensure growth in the markets- which is a positive sign,” he said.
Commenting on speculative market trends, he said that the joint efforts of SECP and the stock markets are always needed to ensure fair market practices.
Pakistan was among the few growing markets lacking demutualisation as almost all stock exchanges worldwide operate in a demutualised set up.
While this bill has been approved by the parliament but four other draft laws of the corporate regulator are awaiting approval including Securities Law, Futures Trading Law, SECP Law and Corporate Rehabilitation Law.
1. MCB Bank declares dividend
KARACHI, March 27: The Board of Directors of MCB Bank on Tuesday approved a final cash dividend at 30 per cent and a 10 per cent bonus issue.
A 90 per cent interim cash dividend was also paid last year.
Chairing the annual general meeting Director MCB Bank Aftab Ahmad Khan said the bank posted 20 per cent and 15 per cent increases in profit before and after tax, respectively.
Net interest income increased by 21 per cent over the last year with non-markup income rose 29 per cent to Rs8.112 billion.
Provisions for the period were reported at Rs3.654 billion with a nominal increase of 2 per cent over last year.
The bank’s assets registered a 15 per cent increase to Rs653.233 billion. Investment portfolio increased by Rs103.6 billion over 2010 with a higher concentration in risk free government securities.
Gross advances were reported at Rs248.135 billion, a decrease of nine per cent over 2010, mainly on account of conversion of commodity financing and circular debt exposure to risk free government securities.
Bank deposits went up by 14 per cent, with 11 per cent and 16 per cent increases reported in current and saving deposits respectively, maintaining CASA at 81 per cent. Earnings per share on 31 December, 2011 were Rs23.23 compared to Rs20.18 for a year earlier.—PPI
2. Highnoon Lab declares dividend
LAHORE – The Board of Directors of Highnoon Laboratories Limited in its meeting held recommended cash dividend of Rs3.00 per share to the shareholders for the year ended 31 December 2011, says a press release.Tausif Ahmad Khan, Chairman of the Company informed the members of the Board that 2012
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