LSE index gains 7.32 points

Sluggish trading continued for the second consecutive day on the Lahore Stock Exchange on Thursday and the equities suffered declines amid a considerably low trading activity. The LSE-25 index gained 7.32 points to close at 5465.54 against 5458.22 of Wednesday while transaction volume squeezed to 290,500 shares compared with the day earlier volume of 370,800 shares.
The market resumed trading on a positive sign and stayed in green zone while lacking interest on the part of investors kept the market's movement in a narrow range. Mari Petroleum, PIA, Maple Leaf Cement, Pak Elektron and NIB Bank stayed in positive zone while Shifa Intl Hospital, Pakistan Refinery, Byco Petroleum, Bank of Punjab, Askari Bank, Silk Bank, WorldCall Telecom, Systems Limited and Fauji Cement were succumbed of profit taking.
Of 83 active issues, five companies posted gains, nine suffered declines while 69 companies stayed glued to their previous closing. Mari Petroleum gained Rs 5.49, while PIA and Maple Leaf Cement were up by 32 paisas and 30 paisas. The Shifa Intl Hospital lost Rs 8.29; Pakistan Refinery shed Rs 2.04 while Byco Petroleum and Bank of Punjab were down by 9 paisas and 8 paisas. The Byco Petroleum stayed on top of volume leaders with 62,500 shares followed by Fauji Fertilizer with 50,000 shares.