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Index recovers another 138 points

KARACHI - Pakistani stocks yesterday remained in a bullish frame of mind boosted by fresh active buying in the banking and cement shares and some other blue chips on reports of higher interim earnings for the half year ended June 30.

The KSE 100-share index consolidated well above the barrier of 11,000 points and was last quoted at 11,156.68, up 138.18 points as leading base shares further rose under the lead of National Bank, Arif Habib Securities, and Lucky and DG Khan Cement.

The sentiment in part was also influenced positively by Press reports that the National Investment Trust (NIT), manager of the recently set up Rs20.00 billion equity market fund will make debut in the share market possibly from tomorrow.

"The Friday is still a session away, it is (The NIT) already in the market and lifted choice stocks in good numbers at the fag-end of the session and encouraged the wavering bulls to take bear onslaught with a confidence," analyst Hasnain Asghar Ali said.

The NIT already having in its fold a massive about Rs30.00 billion profitable portfolios is known as a judicious investment market leader even before being appointed the manager of the new fund could give the needed push and depth to the future stock market in the coming weeks, a leading analyst Ahsan Mehanti, hopes.

However, one should not expect an instant boom conditions as the financial managers of the NIT may not ride the bandwagon just to show their investment skills but will make a terribly calculated moves in a market still fraught with high financial risks, he added.

But analyst Ashraf Zakaria said even a modest presence of the NIT in the market could lure investors back in the market on the perception that the future sailing will be smooth sans manipulation or speculative tilts.

Trading volume on the other suffered a sharp fall as a section of investors did not sell their shares at the early rise anticipating further rise in prices. The figure fell to 144 million shares from the previous 180 million shares as gainers and losers were about evenly matched at 149 to 145, with 13 shares holding on to the last levels.