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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan stocks closed lower on Thursday, weighed down by banking shares hit by rumours of a rise in the tax covering their sector.
The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-share index ended down 0.82 per cent, or 113.83 points, at 13831.47 points, capping a recent rally which pushed the market to a four-year high on Wednesday.
One of the biggest casualties was the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), whose shares fell 5 per cent to 46.93 Pakistani rupees.
“There was talk today that the banking sector’s tax rate may be increased from 35 per cent to 40 per cent, so banking stocks, especially NBP, were hit,” said Atif Zafar, an analyst at the JS Global financial services company.
Trading volume rose to 457.9 million shares, compared with 409.3 million shares traded on Wednesday.
The Pakistan rupee ended slightly weaker at 90.54/64 to the dollar, compared with Wednesday’s close of 90.30/35.
Overnight rates in the money market stayed flat at 9.10 per cent, after falling to that level on Wednesday from Tuesday’s close of 9.75 per cent because of sustained liquidity.
