KARACHI, Jan 1: The share market on Tuesday opened the New Year account on a terribly bearish note as post-Benazir Bhutto assassination panic selling again manifested itself in a bigger way taking away another 400 points from the index amid an uncertain political and economic outlook and divergent opinions about the holding of elections.

But unlike the previous session, there were buyers at the dips as was reflected by a massive rise in the traded volume to well over 300 million shares, signaling that investors are inclined not to miss an attractive bait of capital gains at the current lows.

There is an old adage that the “the market goes so goes the January”, but this time it could be quite the reverse as basic fundamentals have undergone tremendous changes over the last year.

The KSE 100-share index plunged by another 2.91 per cent or 409.40 points at 13,666.43, the total loss during the last two sessions being 7.62 per cent or 1,105.65 points, eroding a massive amount of Rs339 billion from the market capital at Rs4 trillion.The oil and the banking stocks again led the market decline under the lead of OGDC, Pakistan Petroleum, Pakistan Oilfields, National Bank and MCB, which faced lower locks as their values declined by five per cent for the second day in a row.

The bulk of selling in these shares came from the foreign investors as they still hold a premium over the purchased prices.

Opinions are divided over the future market outlook.

Some analysts said the market has already undergone a technical correction and could resume its new year rally despite tense political situation.

But some others say the market could face further price erosions that are technically necessary for its financial health on which a sound new year rally could be built-up.

“The market has risen by about 4,000 points during the momentous year that has just faded into history on a poignant note adding about Rs13 trillion to the market capital,” a leading analyst Ambreen Jiwani at Invest Capital said.

She said if a thousand or odd points are chipped away from the massive rise, it does not necessarily called the return of the bears, adding the market has more than one reason to make the New Year trading more rewarding for the general investor.

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti said the market did mourn the death of Benazir Bhutto amid political turmoil but its base is not that weak to be jolted by snap psychological shocks.

He said unsettled leverage positions for the run-off December contract also took its toll in the absence of buyers.

While leading shares remained under pressure under the lead of JS & Co and Siemens Pakistan, off Rs53.35 and 79, followed by Arif Habib Ltd, JS Global, Habib Bank, National Bank, MCB, Adamjee Insurance, EFU General and Life, IGI, Attock Refinery, National Refinery, Attock Petroleum, Pakistan Oilfields, Pakistan Engineering, Engo Chemical, BOC Pakistan, Packages, Sanofi-Aventis, National Foods and Colgate Pakistan, which suffered fresh sharp fall ranging from Rs11.05 to 37.95.

Unilever Pakistan and Lakson Tobacco rose by Rs44.95 and 21, respectively. Other notable gainers were led by Dawood Lawrence, Pakistan Refinery, Pakistan Services, AKD Securities, Exide Pakistan, Balochistan Wheels, Millat Tractors, and Nestle Pakistan, up by Rs3.10 to 10.

Trading volume showed a sharp rise, signaling that leading players are back in the market and rose to 323 million shares from the previous 71 million shares but losers held a strong lead over the gainers at 236 to 108, with 24 shares holding on to the last levels.

The most active list was topped by TRG Pakistan, lower by 15 paisas at Rs13.85 on 71 million shares followed by OGDC, off by Rs2.80 at Rs116.65 on 25 million shares, National Bank, down by Rs11.05 at Rs221.10 on 12 million shares, Askari Bank, easy by 15 paisas at Rs99.60 on 11 million shares, Arif Habib Securities, off Rs8.65 at Rs164.55 also on 11 million shares, Pakistan Petroleum, lower by Rs7.95 at Rs237.10 on 11 million shares and Bank Al Falah, off by Rs2.65 at Rs51.05 on 10 million shares.

Other actives were led by Pakistan Oilfields, off by Rs13 on 10 million shares, Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim, lower by Rs1.60 on 11 million shares, and NIB Bank, easy by Rs1.05 on nine million shares.

FORWARD COUNTER: The OGDC remained under pressure on the cleared list also and fell by Rs3.02 at Rs117.30 on five million shares followed by the National Bank, off Rs9.94 at Rs224.05 also on five million shares and MCB, sharply lower by Rs17.43 at Rs383 on four million shares.