Bargain hunting boosts market further

The week closed with solid gains as bargain hunting on selected blue chip counters continued to push up the indices.

The Market got off to a positive start on Wednesday after the long holiday break. Wednesday’s gains were extended during the remaining part of the week, however the activity continued to remain thin.

At the weeks close on Friday the All Share Price Index (ASPI) had gained 49.1 points or 2.9 percent to 1725.3 points while the sensitive Milanka Price Index (MPI) edged up 67.5 points or 3.8 percent to 1824.6 points.

The premier lubricant manufacturer Chevron was the major contributor to this week’s market turnover with 0.2 million shares trading within a price range of Rs.107.25 and Rs.114.75 per share. Chevron stock contributed Rs.20.7 million to the weeks market turnover with bulk of the activity on the counter was seen happening on the last trading day of the week. Chevron also witnessed its share price rising by 4.6 percent for the week to close at Rs.114.00 per share on Friday.

Interest on the two telecom sector counters continued for yet another week, however both SLT and Dialog saw lesser quantities trading compared to last week. SLT share price rose 5.6 percent WoW to Rs.38.00 per share with total trading activity amounting to Rs.19.3 million.

Meanwhile a sizeable quantity of 2.7 million Dialog shares were also seen changing hands for the week with the bulk of trading arising on Wednesday. Contribution by Dialog to weekly activity amounted to Rs.13.2 million. The share price of Dialog meanwhile appreciated by 7.1 percent to close at Rs.5.25 per share.

Dockyard saw 0.2 million of its shares trading during the week at a highest price of Rs.61.00 and a lowest of Rs.63.00 per share. Turnover share of Dockyard to the weekly market activity stood at Rs.13.8 million, making it the third largest contributor for the week.

The Dockyard share climbed 2.9 percent WoW to close the week at Rs.62.75 per share. Activity levels continued to remain low during the week witnessing a 22.8 percent decline to Rs.159.3 million while average daily turnover amounted to Rs.53.1 million compared to Rs.68.8 million recorded last week.

Foreign purchases this week amounted to Rs.60.1 million, up by 17.8 percent while foreign sales, which totaled Rs.41.0 million, saw a 48.4 percent decline over the week. Foreign investors were net buyers for the week amounting to Rs.19.1 million with overall foreign participation standing at 31.7 percent of total activity. The highest traded stocks by volume during the week were Dialog, First Capital, SLT and Sierra Cables.

Point of View

Sentiment to get a boost as investors return: Market remained subdued as investors stayed away from the market during the holiday season. However bargain hunting on key blue chips stocks pushed prices higher WoW on thin volumes.

Activity levels to improve: Despite the mix signals from the macro front, we expect the market to hold its ground and maintain the positive trend in the coming week. With more investors expected to return back to the market after the holiday season, retail activity is likely to increase in the coming weeks.

The information contained herein has been compiled from sources that Acuity Stockbrokers (Private) Limited (ASB) believes to be true and reliable but we do not hold ourselves responsible for its completeness or accuracy.

No matters published herein create any liability of any kind on ASB. All opinions, views, findings and conclusions included in this report constitute ASB’s judgment of this date and are subject to change without notice.

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	At a glance 

* All Share Price Index	 : 49.1 points 
* Milanka Price Index	 : 67.5 points 
* Largest contributor 
Chevron 		 : Rs.20.7 million 
* SLT contributed 	 : Rs.19.3 million. 
* Dialog contributed	 : Rs.13.2 million 
* Third largest 
contributor Dockyard 	 : Rs.13.8 million 
* Foreign purchases 	 : Rs.60.1 million 
* Foreign sales	 	 : Rs.41.0 million 
* Average daily turnover : Rs.53.1 million 

* Highest traded stocks during the week were Dialog, 
First Capital, SLT and Sierra Cables.