Lahore stocks depressed

Share values were depressed on Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) on last trading day of the week, and the market ended with an easy note because of what the analysts said a 'technical correction' emerging a day back.
The LSE-25 index closed at 4,775.54 points compared with past sessions' 4,788.70, depicting a fall of 13.16 points. Volume was drastically down by 24.885 million shares to 32.519 million from 57.405 million shares.
The market made some progress in the morning but later fell prey to pressure. Recovery took place in last minutes, which rescued it from a major disaster, analysts said. According to them, the market was under pressure and people were in mood of profit taking, which could continue for another few sessions, they pointed out. Interest was today seen in small banks and some cement stocks while insurance sector and key banks were depressed. Oil sector also failed to take advantage of the soaring trend of crude oil prices in the international market, they pointed out.
The market treaded an uphill course for the two consecutive day in positive response to the federal budget, thus it took a breather on technical grounds in past session which persisted for the second day too (Friday), Amer Hussain Khan, equity sales head of Invest & Finance Securities Ltd said. Moreover, he said that SCRA figure also fell by $3.86 million in this week. He said that the correction may continue in the next trading session also but after the market sheds weightage it will be back on recovery path with fertilisers and small cements being the key attractions. Reports of rising demand of cement and subsidy announced by the government for DAP a fertilisers has made both the sectors attractive, he maintained. Further, there are also unconfirmed reports of expansion in Engro Chemical, which has triggered interest in its scrip, he stated.
Out of a total of 154 traded scrips, 19 were up, 41 landed in red zone while 94 stayed put. Among major gainers, UBL swelled by Rs 4.00, Bank Al-Habib Rs 2.45, Attock Refinery Rs 1.20, Pakistan Industrial Credit Rs 1.10 and Gharibwal Cement Rs 1.10. In minus column, Adamjee Insurance dipped by Rs 11.65, Javed Omer Vohra & Co Rs 9.05, Arif Habib Securities Ltd Rs 4.60, Pakistan Oilfields Rs 4.60 and Nishat Mills Rs 3.45. DG Khan Cement and Bank Alfalah took the lead in terms of turnover with 3.459 million shares and 3.025 million shares, respectively.