Stocks retreat as investors take profits
KARACHI: Stocks dropped on Thursday as investors decided to book profit, partly to sell off overvalued stocks and in part due to futures rollover week. The benchmark KSE-100 index shed 346 points, or 0.69 per cent, to close at 49,481.70.
While foreign investors sold shares worth $3.41 million, mutual funds — the leading buyers in the recent rally — trimmed their positions by $0.62m.
The market started out on a positive footing on Thursday, but after rising by 82 points during the day it took a turn and dipped in the red to an intraday low of 49,446 points. It then finished near the day’s lowest point, indicating overall bearish sentiment.
The volume of shares traded during the day increased by 24pc to 399m shares while the traded value receded by 12pc to Rs14.8 billion. Volumes were led mainly by small-cap stocks.