Index manages to gain 92 points

Despite selling by foreign investors, the KSE-100 index managed to close in positive at 11,464.61 points, up 92.40 points, on the back of local investors' support, during the week ended on December 10, 2011, shortened to three days due to public holidays on account of Aashura.
The foreign investors remained withdrew shares worth $4.841 million from the equity market against an outflow of $2.33 million witnessed during the previous week.
Trading at ready counter improved and average daily volume increased by 17.7 percent to 43.7 million shares as compared to previous week's 37.13 million shares.
Market capitalisation increased by Rs 21 billion to Rs 2.982 trillion.
On Wednesday, the market opened on a negative note and the index declined by 88.32 points to close at 11,283.89 points with total volume of 37.871 million shares.
On Thursday, investors' interest revived and they took fresh positions on dips. That supported the index to register an increase of 108.68 points to close at 11,392.57 points with 50.274 million shares.
On Friday, the index gained 72.04 points to close at 11,464.61 points with 42.977 million shares.
Yawar Uz Zaman, an analyst at InvestCap, said that the index was supposed to take a fresh start after the four-day weekend. However, negativity prevailed largely on both local and foreign equities' fronts, which forced the index to move both ways throughout the week.
Despite that, the index managed to gain 92.40 points on week-on-week basis to close at 11,465 points, up 0.81 percent.
On the local front, gas load management plan for the fertiliser sector still failed to deliver owing to increased gas consumption amid winter. As a result, the country's largest fertiliser plant, (Engro's Enven) was shut down once again due to SNGPL's suspension of gas owing to widening demand/supply gap. Furthermore, issues regarding capital gain tax also came in the limelight as the FBR (tax authority) seemed agreed with members of the Exchange to amend CGT collection methodology. However, on political front, Pak-US relationship continued to remain shaky as Pakistan continued to hold back Nato supplies.
Naveed Tehsin at JS Global Capital said that investors at the bourse remained nervous throughout the week. Issues related to minimum paid up capital requirement for brokerage houses, capital gains tax (CGT) collection rules and the local political uncertainty affected the market sentiment.
The gas related issues pertaining to the fertiliser sector also kept the investors on the sidelines.
The gas load shedding issues to the fertiliser plants on SNGPL network continued throughout the week. Previously, it was proposed to supply gas on rotational basis to the fertiliser plants. However, the situation got worse on Thursday when gas supply to all fertiliser plants was suspended. Resultantly, the chemical sector underperformed on the KSE by 1.8 percent. Ebgro was biggest loser, underperforming the market by 9.5 percent.