STOCK MARKET UPDATE: 18.01.2013

STOCKS

Karachi Stocks Up 130.66 Points:
KARACHI, Jan 17: At the close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 16312.13, up 130.66 points.

(Today Market is 288.35 Up@ 11.12 am)

January 17, 2013

5 TOP GAINERS  &  LOOSERS:

Indus Dyeing	Rs 29.50	UniLever Pak	Rs (30.33)
National Foods	Rs 9.03	Shezan Inter.	Rs (17.00)
Pak Services	Rs 7.79	Sanofi-Aventis	Rs (15.00)
Al-Ghazi Tractor	Rs 7.07	Kyber Tobacco	Rs (5.89)
Gatron Ind.	Rs 7.00	Blessed Tex.	Rs (5.79)

Index gains 109 points

KARACHI, Jan 17: Recovery set in at the stock market on Thursday as the KSE-100 index gained 109.62 points and settled at 16,291.09 points. Volatility was intense as the index moved in a wide band of 16,181 and 16,435 points.
When the markets opened, enthusiastic investors pushed the index up by 254 points. Though some of the gains were pared during the day’s trading, investors took heart by favourable developments on the political front.
The positive statements by both the government and opposition parties on saving the democratic system showed that all major players were on the same page. “After the sharp fall earlier in the week, the stocks were expected to recover as investors sensed the dust was settling,” said a trader at a brokerage house looking after institutional sales.
He also pointed out that local investors were also encouraged by the foreign portfolio inflow of $1.91 million on Thursday against the heavy sale of equity worth $3.09 million by the overseas investors the previous day.
The formation of committee by the government to negotiate with the leader of the long march and the statements by the president and major political leaders assuring that the state would not use force to disperse the protestors in Islamabad, were thought to result in cooling the heat that was feared to result in some sort of law and order situation in the Capital.
As the judicial matters on the rental power projects did not progress to ignite a strong reaction that was feared from the supporters of the ruling party, it further helped improve investor sentiments. The long term holders were lured to hold on to value stocks on hopes of strong earnings and payout announcements in the current reporting season. The law and order
situation in Karachi, however, was a matter of concern for nervous and week holders.
Equity dealer, Samar Iqbal at Topline Securities said that true to expectations, the market further recovered after major political parties reached consensus on election related issues.
Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corporation observed that the stocks closed bullish, led by the oil, banking and fertiliser sectors on strong valuations.
Political consensus on various issues and the assurance by the government for timely elections in the country played a catalyst role in bullish sentiments at KSE.
Strong earnings announcements in blue chip stocks and higher global commodities affected the sentiments. Some investors, however, were cautious on rising concerns over the falling rupee.
Volume jumped to 145 million shares on Thursday, from 96 million shares traded the previous day. Trading value also increased to Rs3.6 billion, from Rs2.7 billion. Market capitalisation saw an addition of Rs22 billion to Rs4.082 trillion, from Rs4.060 trillion.
In all 338 stocks came up for trading with 245 gainers, 73 losers and 20 ending at their previous level.
The leading gainers were Indus Dyeing, which rose by Rs29.50 to Rs619.50, followed by National Foods higher by Rs9.03 to
Rs271.03. On the other hand, the heaviest fall was noted in UniLever Pak, down by Rs30.33 to Rs9969.67 and Shezan International losing Rs17 to Rs392.30.
The top-10 volume leaders were mainly the second and third tier stocks, underlining strong participation by retail investors and day traders. Fauji Cement topped the list with 17m shares up by 15 paisa to Rs6.89.
Jah Sidd Co was briskly traded with volume of 14m shares, gaining 63 paisa to Rs14.74. Byco Petroleum with 13.7 million shares was firmer by 29 paisa to Rs13.27; D.G. Khan Cement saw trading in 7m shares, but the stock shed 23 paisa to Rs51.15.
Another cement stock, Maple Leaf, however, gained 37 paisa to Rs14.67. Among textile scrips, Colony Mills and Nishat (Chunian) were investors’ favourite.

MOHAMMED SALEEM MANSOORI