KARACHI - Panic selling grabbed the Karachi Stock Exchange on the back of SWA operation, resulting in 321 points or 3.36 percent loss in the KSE 100-index on Wednesday. The benchmark 100-index opened with red numbers on board, showing a loss of 51.91 points and index once dropped to sessions lowest level of 9,232.18 points. However, after shedding huge 321.29 points, market closed the day at 9,247.78 points. Meanwhile, junior KSE 30-index closed at 9,770.23 points with a loss of 356.14 points, once again falling below the 10,000 psychological barrier. Foreign outflow from capital markets and retail/ institutional profit-taking added nervousness, while fall in local cement prices played a key role in negative activity at the local equity market. Panic engulfed local equity market mainly on account of much anticipated sell-off by the off-shore participants a day earlier, since the values of the main board stocks were expensive if evaluated on basis of local strength, stated market expert Hasnain Asghar Ali adding the market participants came in as aggressive sellers in almost all the main board stocks, mainly on the view that off-shore participants will continue the strategy from previous session, absence of big quantum buyers created panic thus leading to an extended bearish spell with price erosion a prominent features. Trading activity at the exchange was further decreased to 206.285 million shares as compared to last trading sessions ready market volume of 224.907 million shares. Total trading value of the KSE remained Rs 9.267 billion as against Rs 11.647 billion of last session. Moreover, market capitalisation dramatically squeezed to Rs 2.679tr as investors lost over Rs 90 billion in just one day. Out of 400 active stocks at the stock market, only 77 managed to advance, as many as 305 declined while the value of 18 cos remained unchanged. Prevailing law and order situation did restrict the local liquidity from aggressive accumulation even in the stocks those have attained attractive valuations and are available at low multiples. Cautious accumulation was, however, visible in the main board stocks on extreme discounts that was followed by short covering thus allowing the index to stage mild recovery from days low while high quantum activity in the investment (securities) companies not only gave day traders and market participants jobbing opportunity but the activity helped in improving the sentiment that turned extremely negative around midday. Fresh float and squaring up by day traders during the closing forced a renewed spell of bearish run up with most of the main board stocks hovering close to lower limits. Surprisingly, Pak PTA was crowned as the volume leader of the day with a healthy turnover of 24.736 million shares on Wednesday, followed by AHSL with 22.965m shares, JSCL 17.226m shares, FFBL 14.466m shares, Bank Al-Falah 13.096m shares, DGKC7.829m shares, PTCL 7.011m shares, NBP 5.514m shares, Lucky Cement 5.449m shares, OGDC 5.050m shares namely. Leading gainers at the local bourse include Wyeth Pak, gaining Rs18.70/share to close at Rs1,298.70, Treet Corporation up by Rs13.41/share and its value was improved to Rs288.41, Service Industries added Rs11.01/share, closing at Rs231.31, Grays of Camb. (SPOT) added Rs9.43/share and closed at Rs198.07, Shahtaj Sugar Mills up by Rs4.81/share to close at Rs145 with the trading of only 10 shares. Conversely, Unilever Food lost Rs65/share and its total value was decreased to Rs1,235, Rafhan Maize shed Rs48/share to close at Rs1,700 with a tiny turnover of only 4 shares, Nestle Pak down by Rs44.25/share and closed at Rs1,204.75, Siemens Pak Engineering lost Rs37.96/share, closing at Rs1,450, Unilever Pak shed Rs32.27/share to close at Rs2,235.