Equities on Wednesday recovered under the lead of cement sector amid bullish sentiments on the Lahore Stock Exchange. The LSE-25 index gained 44.52 points to 5503.71 against 5459.19 of Tuesday while transaction volume marginally improved to 638,700 shares compared with the day earlier volume of 629,800 shares. The market resumed trading on a healthy note and buyers' interest in the cement sector companies kept the market in green zone throughout the day.
Cherat Cement, Maple Leaf Cement, Fecto Cement, Pioneer Cement, Flying Cement showed reasonable gains while Tariq Glass Industries, Pak Elektron, Byco Petroleum and Askari Bank also helped improve market sentiments. However, Shifa Intl Hospital, Sui Northern, Golden Arrow, Dewan Salman Fibre and Summit Bank were succumbed of profit taking. Gainers were more than losers. Of 99 active issues, 23 companies posted gains, five suffered declines while 71 companies stayed glued to their previous closing. The Cherat Cement gained Rs 3.37, Maple Leaf Cement Rs 3.26, Fecto Cement Rs 3.13 while Tariq Glass Industries, Pioneer Cement and Pak Elektron were up by Rs 2.89, Rs 2.49 and Rs 2.39, respectively. In the minus column, Shifa Intl Hospital lost Rs 3.52 while Sui Northern and Golden Arrow were down by 35 paisas and 10 paisas. The Bank of Punjab was the market leader whose 155,500 shares changed hands followed by Byco Petroleum with 139,500 shares.