Stocks fall 147 points in range-bound trading
KARACHI: Following the free-fall a day ago, stocks remained range-bound and in search of a direction on Thursday. The KSE-100 index attempted to claw back in early trade but profit-taking, mainly in banks, thwarted the effort.
Brooding investors who have watched the index slide in seven of the last eight sessions saw index extend losses by 147 points (0.40 per cent) to close at 34,887, breaching the 35,000 support level.
Lending their ears to rumours, investors liquidated intra-day trades with the index moving between the high and low by 265 and 206 points. Reports of near conclusion of the ongoing staff level parleys with the visiting International Monetary Fund team and a possible announcement, as early as on Friday, could not excite the market.
Investors braced themselves for tough terms decreed by IMF for the bailout, which analysts said could include increase in sales tax by one percentage point to 18pc and hike in interest rate by 100-200bps.