The local stock market remained sideways mainly on account of lacking support from key players, who stayed at distance following mounting tension in Karachi, after the assassination of a renowned religious scholar on Sunday.
The LSE-25 index retreated to 2977.48 points from its previous closing of 2983.92, showing a marginal loss of 6.44 points. A drastic decline was also noted in trade turnover, which came down to 56.345 million shares from 92.186 million shares, falling by 35.841 million shares.
The market remained sideways throughout the session and barring a few cement stocks, most of the scrips remained under pressure, which dropped the volume significantly.
According to brokers, the cement sector dominated the proceedings with Zeal Pak Cement taking the lead, while Pakland Cement and Pioneer Cement also fared well and finished higher.
The fuel & energy and banking sectors depicted a mixed posture. Stock analysts said the market remained in grip of tension, and investors were reluctant to indulge in fresh activity fearing any untoward situation after the assassination of a religious scholar in Karachi.
Dr Shahid Zia, head of research, Switch Securities Ltd, said due to law and order in Karachi, investors were scared while others opted to off-loading their positions, therefore, the market remained under pressure most of the time.
He, however, said the buying in the cement sector provided support that averted the chances of a battering, adding despite pressure in the broader market, the cement sector outperformed with the Zeal Pak Cement and Pakland Cement leading the top gainers.
About the future outlook of the market, he said there was still strength in the market, and it could go upward with the support of cement and banking sectors which are fundamentally 'very strong'.
He said the buying in this sector would also help the broader market. About possible impact of PIAC's 10 percent share subscription, he viewed that the investors were not much interested in it due to difference between the subscription price and the prevalent market rate of the share that is less from investors' expectation.
Another negative factor is that PIAC earning reports are not satisfactory from investors' point of view, he said, adding recently it has announced interim dividend which is mere an eyewash, and the company has taken this initiative just to avoid de-listing in the stock market.
He, however, opined that people should subscribe its share as it could give them yield up to 20 percent, which is not bad.
Out of a total of 95 traded scrips, 22 were up, 24 showed negative signs with 49 remaining unchanged.
Major gainers were Zeal Pak Cement improving by Rs 2.30, Pakland Cement Rs 2.00, Pioneer Cement and Askari Commercial Bank Rs 1.30 each and OGDC Rs 1.20.
In the minus column, Crescent Commercial Bank was down by 93 paisa, Allied Bank Modaraba 1st 80 paisa, National Bank 65 paisa, Bosicor Pakistan and Adamjee Insurance 50 paisa each.
Fauji Cement and Dewan Salman Fibre were the volume leaders with 8.887 million shares and 5.336 million shares, respectively.
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