Index breaches 12,000-point barrier

"But the recovery was not based on positive news and appears to be inspired one as there is no change in the political scenario or a terrible lull," a leading analyst Faisal A. Rajabli said "the market needs sanity on the political front and allaying of fears about the rumours of new taxes in the budget".

Market sources said a delegation of the KSE met Asif Zardari and the finance minister Naveed Qamar and apprised them about the problems of investors in relation to the current market decline but they said there was no positive response in regard to immediate corrective steps but promised after the budget.

After having breached through another barrier, 12,000, third in a row at 11,698.98 as investors continued to unload their long positions in the backdrop of disturbing rumours including resignation of the president following in quick succession,the index recouped bulk of the initial losses. But its junior partners fell further by 75.19 points at 14,319.92 points.

"The market is still in the tight grip of speculative forces which are out to undo just within no time what the capital market had attained during the last couple of years," analyst Ahsan Mehanti said "It may not have political under current though some think it may have."

What seems to have aggravated the situation is the official apathy as there is no word from them allaying investors fears about the capital gains tax and rumours of imposition of other taxes in the budget," he said.

"The loss of $22 billion in the market capital during the last couple of weeks is a terribly massive figure, a half of which is billed to the credit of the government and the other half is shared by the investors and the brokerage houses", analyst Ashraf Zakria said but thinks the "market has the capacity and the will to recoup it in normal trading conditions backed by official corrective steps."

"The current selloff has surpassed all previous market crashes including those of March 2005 and June 2007 in terms of erosion of the market capital," analysts Faisal A. Rajabali said "it has lost about $22 billion from the market capital since early May, the losses in previous market plunges being $15 and $13 billion respectively."

PSO and Colgate Pakistan led the list of leading gainers, up by Rs19.25 and 23.25 respectively, while AKD Capital and EFU Life fell by Rs50.68 and 19.06 on renewed selling.

Turnover figure was modest at 192 million shares but losers maintained a strong lead over the gainers at 205 to 105, with 24 shares holding on to the last levels.

OGDC led the list of actives, up by Rs2.73 at Rs126.00 on 18 million shares followed by NIB Bank, steady by 10 paisa at Rs12.10 on 17 million shares, PTCL, higher by Rs1.95 at Rs41.07 on 7 million shares, Bank Al Falah, off Rs2.13 at Rs43.00 also on 7 million shares, Pakistan Petroleum, up Rs2.19 at Rs249.00 on 6 million shares, National Bank, off Rs8.06 on 6 million shares, Pakistan Oilfields, higher by Rs2.08 at Rs378.00 on 5 million shares and Arif Habib Securities, lower by Rs3.48 at Rs152.80 on 6 million shares.