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Investors go on buying spree, blue chips extend support

KARACHI - PAKISTANI share market last week staged a broad-based rally as both local and foreign investors made an extensive buying at the lower levels almost on the all the blue chip counters.

The KSE 100-share index, which earlier showed either-way movement surged to new all-time high of well over 12,500 points at 12,732.41 points, up by 392 points. Its junior partner KSE 30-share index also rose by 609.86 at 15,897.01.

The market has been terribly weighed down by proposed three-day strike from May 25 to 27 by the city transporters against killing of some of their relatives and colleague on May 12. Added to it was financial losses as several vehicles of their members were burnt by the mob on that day.

Tension linked to a possible violence kept investors jittery throughout the week and they mostly played safe despite some positive news on the Mark-2 front.

But the postponement of the strike to the next month on the conditions that transporters demand will be met gave the much-needed push to foreign investors and the local bargain-hunters who flooded the market by fresh buystops at the current levels.

The massive surge reflected how scare investors were amid conflicting rumours including talk of revenge during the pre-strike sessions. But the post-postponement snap rally indicated investors are there but they need tension-free background news.

The market's mid week snap rally boosted by active short-covering in the oil shares followed by reports of increase in world oil prices and sympathetic earning-based covering purchases on the other counters, notably leading banks showed that it has the will to rise further in normal trading conditions.

"Essentially, it was institutional based rally later joined by the foreign investors", a leading stock analyst Faisal A.Abbas said "tired institutions could not sit idle on their heavy liquid cash and resumed normal business at the lower levels".

An other analyst Hasnain Ali Asghar hopes that the snap rally could be sustained in the coming sessions also but doubts background news from different fronts are not that positive.

But the Tuesday's snap rally gave a pleasant surprise to most leading market players awaiting clearer picture on the corporate thinking in the coming sessions, he added.

Earlier, investors were, however, worried over the proposed three-day strike by the city transporters to protest the killings of May 12 and violence linked to such protests,analysts said "It could have taken away steam out of the market atleast for the near-term signs of which are already visible in the falling volumes but its postponement saved the situation".

Bad news both from the political and law and order front are following in quick succession never allowing investors to plan a long-term portfolio adjustment strategy, analyst Ashraf Zakaria think adding" everybody is awaiting to invest after the political dust settles down. The perception that the index will settle somewhere well above the level of 12,500 points appear to be possible despite developing political situation and investors will think twice to invest even at the falling prices. But some others said it has already survived the shock and is well on the road to set new record.

"There is more than one reasons having bearish impact on the share market in the coming weeks,main among them being perception of political uncertainty", analyst Ahsan Mehanti said " all the political indicators originating both official and private sources are terribly bearish".

Many may not like to invest in a bigger way in the share business if the future market outlook linked to capital appreciation is not that encouraging and they will try to put their money somewhere else where it appreciates, he said.

MCB and Siemens Pakistan were leading among the gainers followed by Javed Omer, Shell Pakistan, Rafhan Bestfoods, JS & Co, JS Global, National Bank, Adamjee Insurance, Fazal Textiles, and Packages.

Pakistan Tobacco, Bata Pakistan, Dawood Lawrence, Noon Pakistan, Lakson Tobacco, National Refinery, and some others were leading among the losers.