STOCK MARKET UPDATE: 29.03.2013

STOCKS

Karachi Stocks Up 17.57 Points:
KARACHI, Mar 28: At the close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 17943.71, up 17.57 points.

 (Today Market is 58.22 Up@ 10.36 am)

March 28, 2013

 5 TOP GAINERS  &  LOOSERS:

UniLever Pak	Rs 582.15	Indus Dyeing	Rs (20.99)
Nestle Pak	Rs 249.00	Pak Services	Rs (10.12)
Colgate Palmolive	Rs 82.91	Millat Tractors	Rs (4.69)
Unilever Food	Rs 60.00	PICT	Rs (4.00)
Bata Pak	Rs 41.00	Atlas Battery	Rs (3.46)

Stocks gain 21 points amid thin turnover

KARACHI, March 28: Stocks made modest gains on Thursday on a thin turnover that turned out to be 10-week low. The KSE-100 index rose by 21.62 points to 17,947.76 points.
Dealers said that the investors traded cautiously in fundamentally strong stocks. Institutional players remained sidelined waiting for the dust on the political ground to settle so that the steps to be taken on the matters of economy and law and order by the caretaker government were clearer.
For most investors, however, a stagnant market did not represent a red flag. “It is lack of triggers that the investor interest in equity trading is at a low ebb”, said a broker.
He said that it was to be noted that the market was still climbing north, though at a very slow pace.
Hasnain Asghar Ali at Escorts Capital commented that shares in the equity market floated aimlessly. Day traders did participate, but could hardly buffer up volumes. Sector and stock swapping kept the front line stocks marginally active while portfolio adjustments were seen to be made with economic issues in view.
Moreover, the ongoing judicial hearings and likely convictions that may create law and order situation and political fallout was a popular assumption, which added to the investor nervousness.
The presence of values, on the other hand, restricted any major adjustment despite stagnation and declining volumes.
Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said that the stocks closed higher amid thin trade led by cement and telecom stocks on strong valuations. Higher global commodities on strong US data, rising oil production data for Makori fields of local exploration companies, announcement of greenfield cement project investment by DG Khan Cement, easing political outlook were positives for investors.
Speculations on CPI Inflation data for March and institutional support ahead of quarter end close played a catalyst role in higher closing at the market amid concerns for rising circular debt issues in energy sector and uncertainty over economic impact of IMF loan repayments.
The official figures released on Thursday showed that the foreigners continued to pick up value scrips with net purchases at $0.94 million. Among the local Participants, individuals led buyers with $2.79 million and mutual funds picked up stocks valued at $0.01 million.
On the sell side, companies offloaded stocks worth $2.05 million and banks sold stocks valued at $0.45m.
The market capitalisation based KSE-30 index dipped 27.86 points to 14,161.71 points. Market capitalisation rose by Rs23 billion to Rs4.406 trillion on Thursday, from Rs4.383tr the previous day.
Turnover dived to 101 million shares, from 148m shares that changed hands on Wednesday and the trading value stood reduced by about a half to Rs2.554bn on Thursday, from Rs5.025bn the previous day.
The two top gainers for the day were UniLever Pak up by Rs582.15 to Rs12,225.21. Nestle Pakistan also was a big gainer of Rs249 to Rs5,499. On the declining side, Indus Dyeing was down by Rs20.99 to Rs428, followed by Pakistan Services lower by Rs10.12 to Rs194.88.
The volume leaders were PIA up by 12 paisa to Rs7.23 on 21m shares. Wateen Telecom gained 23 paisa to Rs3.84 on 7m shares, Lotte PakPTA declined by 8 paisa to Rs7.23 on 6m shares, PTC added 20 paisa to Rs19.90 on 5m shares and TRG Pakistan edged higher by one paisa to Rs7.46 on 4m shares.
Jah Sidd Co trading spot, declined by 19 paisa to Rs13.82 on 3m shares; Maple Leaf Cement was up by 8 paisa to Rs16.76 on 3m shares, NIB Bank rose 14 paisa to Rs2.30 on 3m shares, Adamjee Insurance plunged by Rs2.02 to Rs70.04 on 3m shares and Telecard Limited rose three paisa to Rs5.56 on 2m shares.
Pakistan stocks soar on aviation stocks; telcos help: KARACHI: Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) made modest gains amid thin trade with trade here on Thursday, Geo News reported.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index accumulated 0.28 percent, or 49.86 points, to close higher at 17,947.76 points before the closing bell rang.
According to market reports aviation and telecom stocks were the drawing cards of the day, which saw the trading volumes plunge to a 10-week low.
Supreme Court of Pakistan’s final decision on a case over international calling rates gave telecoms a needed boost, as a result Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd jumped by 1.02 percent to Rs19.90.
On the other hand Pakistan International Airline Corporation jumped by 1.97 percent to Rs7.25.

Company News:

Banks declare profits: KARACHI, March 28: Three banks including National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Soneri Bank and MCB Bank declared profits on Thursday for the financial year ending December 31, 2012.
The National Bank of Pakistan held its 64th Annual General Meeting attended by the shareholders in the presence of President and CEO, Dr Asif A Brohi and board members Shahid Aziz Siddiqui and Tariq Kirmani, a press release said.
Brohi shared the bank’s performance during the year including the initiatives taken by the management as well as the challenges being faced.
The president highlighted the fact that Central bank reduced its policy rate by 250 basis points (bps) in 2012 making total reduction of 450 bps in the last 15 months.
The State Bank of Pakistan increased the minimum profit rate on deposit from 5 per cent to 6 per cent. Due to these factors the bank’s interest margin like all other banks remained under pressure.
“This reduction was partially offset through volume growth and improving deposit mix. After-tax-profit stood at Rs16.2 billion, consequent to the adjustment in discount rate. Total assets of the bank increased to Rs1.31 trillion at the year end, up by 14 per cent from year end 2011. The bank’s total deposits increased by Rs110bn or 12 per cent,” the press release added.
Meanwhile, the 65th Annual General Meeting of MCB Bank shareholders approved the recommendation of board of directors for final cash dividend at 30 per cent and 10 per cent bonus issue, a press release said.
The bank reported profit before tax of Rs32.054bn and profit after tax of Rs20.941bn with an increase of 2 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively.
Net markup income of MCB was reported at Rs40.856bn whereas non-markup income came to Rs9.153bn. Non-markup income registered an increase of Rs1bn (13 per cent) owing to 16 per cent increase in fee, commission and brokerage income and 19 per cent increase in dividend income during the year.
Earnings per share (EPS) for the year came to Rs22.77

MOHAMMED SALEEM MANSOORI