On the last day of trading in July 2001, News-Prime Bank Composite Index of VIS closed at 3,507.36 points which was 128.10 points or 3.52 per cent down as compared to what it registered at the end of June 2001. The peak of 3,617.68 points it registered on the 3rd of July was never matched or crossed during the month whereas it ebbed as low as 3,505.60 points on the 30th of the month. Out 21, there were 7 days when the index closed higher than its preceding close while it lost values on the remaining 14 days.

The two major components of the Composite, Financial and Industrial indexes, also followed the downward trend. The Financial index, as witnessed earlier too, recorded a larger decline of 4.85 per cent whereas the Industrial index lost 2.84 per cent. In the family of 36 sector indexes of the News-Prime Bank Index System, as many as 29 indexes posted loss exposing the sluggishness that prevailed at the market. On the other side, only seven indexes managed to close on a positive note. 

The Financial index broke the 2,000 points mark and close at 1,943.69 points from its June-close of 2,042.85 points. All the six sector-indexes in the financial segment closed in the negative column. The sector index of 'Banks & Investment Cos.' Lost the most i.e. 7.33 per cent as it dipped to 135.22 points from 145.91 points a month ago.

The Industrial index remained less pressurized, nevertheless it lost about 3 per cent during the month. The Industrial index closed at 4,301.93 points as compared to end-June's 4,427.48 points. Among the 30 industrial sectors, indexes of seven sectors manged to register gains while the other 23 closed in the negative column. Index of 'Dairy & Beverages' remained the winner with the appreciation of 3.89 per cent. On the contrary, it was the sector index of 'Auto Assemblers' that was most hardly hit as it marked loss of 10.18 per cent.

News-Prime Bank Indexes

Major Indexes

Sector Index          Closing as on          Change over

                       July 31, 2001          June 30, 2001

Composite          3,507.36      -128.10 (-3.52%)

Financials          1,943.69      -99.16 (-4.85%)

Industrials          4,301.93      -125.55 (-2.84%)

Base: 10,000 December 29, 1994

Top Five Gaining Sector Indexes

Sector Index          Closing as on          Increase over

          July 31, 2001          June 30, 2001

Dairy & Beverages          488.97          18.23 (3.87%)

Jute    642.84          20.16 (3.24%)

Coating/ Resins/ Alkalis          236.30          3.16 (1.36%)

Toiletries           922.92          6.69 (0.73%)

Paper & Board          397.30          2.83 (0.72%)

Base: 1,000 December 29, 1994

Top Five Losing Sectors

Sector Index          Closing as on          Decrease over

                           July 31, 2001          June 30, 2001

Automotive Assemblers          365.57          41.44 (10.18%)

Fertilizers                 345.35          35.88 (9.41%)

Engineering & Metals 253.68          24.33 (8.75%)

Cement & Building Products     90.86          8.33 (8.40%)

Energy                         206.97          18.80 (8.33%)

Base: 1,000 December 29, 1994

Other Indicators:

KSE-100 Index, the market capitalization based index of KSE, also remained quite despondent during the month under review. KSE-100, breaking the psychological barrier of 1,300 points dipped to 1,228.89 points from 1,366.43 points and lost 137.54 points or 10.07 per cent over its June close.

Trading at the Lahore and Islamabad Stock Exchanges was sluggish as on the last day of trading in July, LSE-101 reached 246.60 points and lost 26.62 points or a substantial 9.74 per cent over its close of end-June.

The ISE-Network Index of Islamabad also slipped and reached 4,133.26 points with the registered decline of a massive 240.99 points or 5.51 per cent.

Share trading was considerably low as compared to June as recorded at an average of 56.5m shares per day for 21 days of trading during July.

The Market Favorites:

The usual favorites made it to this month's list once again. However, volumes were considerably low which could be gauged from the fact that the cumulative share turnover of the top five companies accounted for about 38 per cent of the total which was remarkably lower than 60 per cent or more recorded in previous months. No wonder News-CresBank Confidence Barometer gained new heights this month. Interestingly, all the market favorites lost in share values during the month with Hubco staying in the lead.

Top Turnover Stocks

Companies          Share Turnover ('000)  % of Market Price Change

          in July 2001          Turnover       over end-June 2001

PTCL          168,723        14.2          - 15.3%

HUBCO          163,572        13.8          - 16.4%

PSO    69,719          5.9          - 6.7%

ICI Pak          25,369          2.1          - 15.9%

Engro Chem.          19,704          1.7          - 12.8%