· Market remained dull today as battle between the bull and bear was boxed in the range bound area. Inflationary concerns feared the investors as weekly inflation witnessed highest increase in three months and further weakening of Pak rupee against dollar. In a bid to curb runway inflation in the country, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Saturday raised the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) by one percentage point for scheduled banks for the first time in 13 years. Expectation of interest rate hike by SBP in the upcoming monetary policy caused profit booking in cyclical stocks and accumulation in banking stocks. On the flip-side, activity from institutional investors remained lackluster.

· The Index closed at 45,736 pts as against 45,749 pts showing a decrease of 12.9 pts (-0.03% DoD). Sectors contributing to the performance include Cement (-29.8pts), Vanaspati & Allied (-19.2pts), Inv. Banks (-18pts), OMC’s (-17.5pts) and Power (-10.8pts).

· Volumes decreased from 192.5mn shares to 172.9mn shares (-10.2% DoD). Traded value also decreased by 33.0% to reach US$ 29.3mn as against US$ 43.72mn.

· Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include HASCOL, GGL, WTL, UNITY and FFLR1.