Bearish sentiment was observed at Lahore Stock Exchange on Monday where equities, in the absence of buying support, remained under pressure as majority of investors preferred to stay away from the market. The LSE-25 index lost 6.30 points and closed at 2834.49 points against 2840.79 points of last Friday while the volume increased marginally to 836,678 shares as compared to 681,920 shares.
The market opened on a depressed note and kept on moving up and down throughout the day. The volatility forced the investors to stay away from buying course. As a result, MCB Bank, Habib Bank, Pakistan Oilfields, Attock Refinery, Arif Habib Corp, Fauji Fertiliser, Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim, Engro Corporation, Fatima Fertiliser, Maple Leaf Cement and Lafarge Pakistan Cement ended in minus column.
However, PSO, National Bank, Silk Bank, PTCL and Nimir Industrial Chemical resisted pressure and showed marginal improvement.
The losers were more than the gainers, as out of 95 active issues, 6 companies posted gains and 18 went down, while 71 companies remained unchanged.
PSO gained 72 paisa, National Bank was up by 26-paisa, PTCL gained 14 paisa and Silk Bank was up by 13 paisa. In the minus column, MCB Bank lost Rs 2.29, Pakistan Oilfields declined by Rs 1.30, Habib Bank was down by 96 paisa, and Arif Habib Corporation lost 90 paisa.
Silk Bank topped the volume leaders with trading of 437,000 shares, followed by NIB Bank with 113,818 shares.