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Political developments to decide future trend

KARACHI — Pakistani stocks finished the week on a steady note as leading bank shares came in for active support on reports of higher earnings.

The underlying sentiment was, however, a bit nervous ahead of the expected apex court ruling on the eligibility of president Musharraf as a candidate and due to talk of stay or postponement of the election, floor brokers said.

The prevailing uncertainty amid conflicting reports was also well-reflected in the status quo maintained by the KSE 100-share index in an apparent effort to absorb negative or positive impact of the apex court ruling on the share market, they said.

The index closed with a fractional fall of 0.64 points at 14,099.30 compared to previous 14,099.94 a day earlier after opening higher followed by reports of a deal with Benzir Bhutto, hitting the session's peak at 14,272.85 and low at 14,026.52 points.

Analaysts said the direction of the market would be set by apex court ruling on the presidential election due today and if it goes well as planned there could be fresh boom like conditions on the share market and if the election was stayed then there could be a brief interruption.

“Possibly by the next week the market would decide whether or not to go with the legal battle or play safe on the strength of its corporate fundamentals”, said leading analyst Ahsan Mehanti.

But Ashraf Zakaria, another leading analyst, said the market needs peace and if the current uncertainty continues the performance of the market may remain erratic but if the current move of national reconciliation is strictly adhered to there could be another boom like condition on the share market.

Among the top gainers, Colgate Pakistan and Pakistan Resource Co were leading, up by Rs18.95 and Rs19.15 respectively, while losers were led by Nestle Pakistan and JS Global, off by Rs14 and Rs18.75 respectively.

Trading volume showed a modest rise at 290 million shares compared to 288 million shares a day earlier as gainers held a strong lead over the losers at 179 to 129, with 42 shares holding on to the last levels.

Askari Bank led the list of actives, up by Rs3.05 at Rs100.25 on 33 million shares followed by Bank AlFalah, higher By Rs2.80 at Rs59.15 on 25 million shares, National Bank, firm by Rs4 at Rs274.90 on 24 million shares, Arif Habib Securities, up Rs4.90 at Rs144.90 also on 24 million shares, OGDC, lower by Rs1.45 at Rs123.55 on 15 million shares, Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim, steady by 10 paisa at Rs45.90 on 13 million shares, NIB Bank, firm by five paisa at Rs21.40 on 12 million shares.