Share market turns bullish

Bullish trend was observed at the share market during the week ended on January 15, 2011, and KSE-100 index surged by 144.50 points to close at 12,533.54 points. Trading also improved and the average daily volume at ready counter increased by 19.8 percent to 185.70 million shares as compared to previous week''s 155.01 million shares.
Market capitalisation increased by Rs 39 billion to Rs 3.391 trillion. Foreign investors'' interest continued with a fresh inflow of $29 million. On Monday, the market opened on a negative note and the index lost 82.34 points to close at 12,306.70 points with a volume of 135.400 million shares.
This trend continued on Tuesday and the index lost 39.49 points to close at 12,267.21 points with 120.003 million shares. On Wednesday, foreign investors supported the index which register a gain of 14.03 points, to close at 12,281.24 points, with 143.155 million shares trading.
On Thursday, the market turned bullish on the back of strong foreign investors'' support, and the index surged by 178.20 points to close at 12,459.44 points, with trading of 229.463 million shares.
This trend continued on Friday when the index gained 74.10 points to close at 12,533.54 points, with 300.500 million shares trading. Khurram Schehzad, Head of Research at Invest Capital and Securities, said that the market started the week with a stutter, though by the week end it recovered by 1.17 percent. The optimism was restored typically during the last two trading sessions as buying activity flared up especially in oil, chemicals, fertilizers and selected items from textile.
He said that the positivity was further injected through increased activity which was reflected by higher volumes. Rabia Tariq at JS Global Capital said that the bourse continued its sturdy momentum with strong volumes. The rally was broad-based, spanning from fertilizer to banks and oil-based scrips.
Aggressive foreign participation was observed with impressive buying worth $29 million. On the contrary, key macro data released, hinted that the recovery remained fragile, with inflation remaining high and trade deficit mounting.
With the result season around the corner, the market gained impetus in anticipation of good corporate results and attractive payouts. Overall, the rally was broad-based, encompassing the banking, fertilizer and energy scrips such as MCB (up7.7 percent), UBL (up2.9 percent), FFC (up9.4 percent) and ENGRO (up 9.0 percent). Furthermore, high oil prices kept investor interest intact in oil and gas exploration companies such as POL (up3.6 percent). The approval of the MTS product by the law ministry further boosted the sentiment of the investors, who now believe that the launch of the product may be imminent.