Pakistan stocks close lower, rupee strengthens

KARACHI: Pakistan stocks closed lower following the bearish trend on global equity markets.
Traders also cited profit-taking in large cap stocks including Pakistan Petroleum Ltd, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd. and Muslim Commercial Bank Ltd.
However fertilizer stocks performed well due to institutional buying.
The Karachi Stock Exchange’s benchmark 100-share index closed 0.54 percent, or 116.25 points, lower at 21,342.65.
Pakistan Petroleum Ltd. fell 2.64 percent to 216.89 rupees while Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd. was down 1.19 percent at 20.80 rupees.
The rupee ended at 98.40/98.45 against the dollar, stronger than Wednesday’s close of 98.45/95.50
Overnight rates in the money market remained flat at 9.40 percent.