KARACHI, March 28: Stocks suffered fractional pruning at the inflated levels on Friday as some investors took profits but there were buyers at the dips, notably on the cement and banking sectors. The KSE 100-share index settled well above 15,200 on the strength of base shares.

But there was nothing to suggest that the current upward drive is overdone as ready absorption of the entire selling, both at the rise and the fall, reflects that the future share business outlook is optimistic.

A final cash dividend of 15 per cent (15 per cent interim already paid) by Adamjee Insurance seems to have fallen below the market expectations as investors were also hoping bonus shares along with the cash. This was also evident from heavy battering its share received during the post-dividend trading, pushing its share value lower by Rs20.80 followed by a lower lock, analysts said.

But on the other hand Century Insurance came out with bonus shares of 30 per cent and right shares of 50 per cent at a premium of Rs20 per share.

After last couple of sessions’ run-up on positive developments, both on the political and corporate fronts, share market took a technical breather on weekend profit-selling.

The KSE 100-share index managed to finish well above the barrier of 15,000 points despite a good of selling in leading base shares and showed it is heading to set new record in the coming weeks on the strength of peaceful transfer of power amid fading chances of feared confrontation between the presidency and the new government on some core issues.

The final closing was at 15,268.22, off 6.31 points as compared to 15,274.53 a day earlier as some of the base shares did not toe the market’s general line of action. The 30-share index on the other hand fell by 66.44 points at 18,704.20.

The transfer of power to the coalition winners is expected to be completed by tomorrow after the prime minister takes vote of confidence from the house and the new cabinet is in place, said a floor broker adding and by the next week economic and financial priorities of the new government will be out to put the economy back on the rails.

“The full economic recovery may take some months in the backdrop of higher rate of inflation, fiscal deficit, and resource constraints,” he said, adding “but the bold steps and active participation of the private sector could deliver.”

However, leading analysts are not inclined to take a bearish view of the market and said it has potential to rise further aided by reports of higher interim earnings and its inherent strength.

“The weekend profit-selling is an essential part of stock trading as it adds to the underlying strength of the market rather than pushing it into the reverse gear,” they said.

Leading gainers were led by EFU Life Assurance, and Fazal Textile, up by Rs27 and Rs20, while leading losers included Adamjee Insurance and Pakistan Engineering, off by Rs20.80 and Rs18.70, respectively.

Trading volume fell to 227m shares from the previous 243 million shares as gainers and losers about evenly matched at 140 to 143, with 40 shares holding on to the last levels.JS Bank again came in for modest support and rose by 90 paisa at Rs22.45 on 19m shares followed by D.G. Khan Cement, higher by Rs1.20 at Rs113.90 on 16m shares, Bank Alfalah, firm by 70 paisa at Rs54 also on 16m shares, Bank Islami Pakistan, up 85 paisa at Rs19.70 on 12m shares, Arif Habib Securities, easy by 25 paisa at Rs181.05 on 8m shares, Lucky Cement, steady by 50 paisa at Rs138.75 on 6m shares and Adamjee Insurance, sharply lower by Rs20.80 on 6m shares.

Other actives included Pak PTA, up 50 paisa at Rs5.50 on 18m shares followed by Bank of Punjab, easy 10 paisa at Rs67.80 on 8m shares and Azgard Nine, sharply higher by Rs3.25 at Rs68.85 on 6m shares.

FORWARD COUNTER: Bank Alfalah led the list of actives on the cleared list, up by Rs1.12 at Rs54.85 on 10m shares, followed by Bank of Punjab, off Rs1.18 at Rs67.39 on 9m shares, and Sui Southern Gas, up 35 paisa at Rs28.60 on 9m shares.