The result season shopping spree was live and kicking at the local bourse as the KSE-100 index gained 76 points for the day to finish at 11,960 points. Volumes maintained their strength in the week’s last trading session with 75.6m shares traded. After a reporting a full year earnings loss of Rs0.27/share today, market volume leader LOTPTA’s stock took a sharp 9 per cent plunge as the challenging times facing the company became more evident. FFC remained the star performer jumping 4.8 per cent mainly in the second half over market rumours that the company will announce stock dividend with 2011 result coming Monday.
ENGRO soon followed and gained 1.6per cent, while FFBL inched lower by 1.1 per cent despite announcing better than expected 2011 result. Among E&P companies OGDC edged up 2.7 per cent amid healthy volumes, while PSO also remained sought after with a decent rise of 1.4 per cent over expectations of early resolution of the circular debt. In contrast, the sky was the limit for FFC, as it established the upper circuit with investors anticipating strong earnings and a bonus share issue when its results are announced on January 30, 2012. Cement stocks retained their momentum from yesterday as analysts release rosy result expectations for sector equities. Overall, the week ended on a positive note with the necessary corrections along the way and we expect a similar pattern in the upcoming week as the corporate results season gains traction, said Ali Hussain at HMFS.
