Karachi stocks dip by 666 points

KARACHI, Aug 5 (Pak Tribune): Karachi capital market failed to sustain the pressure of political uncertainty in the first post-Ramazan trading session on Monday and dipped by 666.24 points.
The announcement of a mourning day by Tahirul Qadri fuelled ongoing political uproar, which dragged the market into the red zone and it dipped by 666.24 points, dealers said. Argentina's defaulting coupled with downward trend in foreign markets pushed the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE)-100 index 666.24 points down to close at 29,647.83 points as compared to 30,314.07 of previous session.
Prominent businessman and AKD Group Chairman Aqeel Karim Dhedhi said, "Tahirul Qadri's speech, 'Azadi' (freedom) March of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on August 14 and Argentina's defaulting on its payments were the key variables in Karachi capital market's breakdown".
He said the current worldwide descending spree in equity markets also came in the local bourse, however foreign inflows in KSE remained healthy, as local panic selling was seen mainly in mutual fund sector.
Criticising the government's role Dhedhi said government institutions should create some activity in the market to stabilise the stock market's sentiments. He said since the government earns huge sums from equity markets, it should invest in the markets during correction time. He said current rulers have failed to perform on every front, including political and financial.
Commenting on the situation, senior TV anchor and analyst Azhar Batla said, "Rising political temperature taking its toll triggered panic among local investors as they opted selling while benchmark settled at typical correction."