KARACHI: Pakistani shares ended lower on Friday on political uncertainty, concerns over potential investigations into domestic brokers and weakness in regional markets, traders said.

The benchmark 100-share index of the Karachi Stock Exchange closed down 0.36 percent, or 119.10 points, at 32,960.27, the eighth straight session of falls.

“Considering the sort of climate that we have seen, today’s performance is in line with the losses this week. So it wouldn’t make sense to hold onto major positions on Friday, rather than wait until Monday to see what happens over the weekend,” said Raza Jafri, a senior researcher at Inter Market Securities Ltd.

In the absence of visible market triggers, such as quarterly reports from index heavyweights or major policy interventions, Jafri said the market appeared more sensitive to domestic noise while weakness in the Chinese market also filtered through to global markets.

Traded volume was 81.7 million shares, while traded value was 5.387 billion rupees ($51.09 million).

Among major losers, Lucky Cement Ltd. dropped 1.83 percent, Pakistan State Oil Company Ltd. declined 1.48 percent and Engro Corp. Ltd. fell 1.87 percent.

The market recovered from its intra-day low of 32,820.28, due in part to modest gains in some index heavyweight stocks.

Habib Bank Ltd. gained 0.55 percent, Oil and Gas Development Co. Ltd. rose 1.04 percent and MCB Bank Ltd. added 0.19 percent.

The rupee closed unchanged at 105.45/105.50 against the dollar.

Overnight rates in the money market rose to 6.25 percent from Thursday’s close of 6.10 percent.