KSE dips by 30 points; rupee falls

KARACHI (Reuters) - Pakistani stocks ended lower on Monday as most investors opted to stay on the sidelines in a lacklustre market, dealers said. Volume remained loyw as there are no triggers for the market players as a result of which volumes fell to 1.9 billion Pakistani rupees ($21.92 million) after a gap of 2 months, said Samar Iqbal, a dealer at Topline Securities Ltd. The Karachi Stock Exchanges benchmark 100-share index loses 30.45 points and closed at 12,008.48. Volume was only 39.57 million shares, compared with 39.66 million shares traded on Friday. In the currency market, the rupee ended at 86.63/69 to the dollar, compared with Fridays close of 86.60/65 because of increased import payments. Looking ahead, dealers said the local currency could face further downward pressure, despite healthy remittances from Pakistanis living abroad, thanks to a widening current account deficit. Pakistans current account deficit surged to a provisional $908 million in September, compared with a deficit of $201 million in August. The deficit for the July-September quarter was a provisional $1.21 billion, compared with $597 million in the same period last year, according to data from the State Bank of Pakistan. In the money market, overnight rates slightly lower at between 11.50 percent and 11.75 percent, compared with Fridays close of 11.90 percent.

ePaper - Nawaiwaqt