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Karachi: Pakistani stocks fell over four per cent on Monday to hit their lowest level in more than 15 months, as investors fretted about an uncertain political and economic outlook, dealers said.
"It's a crisis of confidence, investors are jittery, otherwise stock valuations are good," said Sajid Bhanji, a dealer at brokers Arif Habib Securities Ltd.
The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-share index was 4.23 per cent, or 493.11 points, lower at 11,162.17 points. Volume was 112.9 million shares and losers led gainers 288 to 39.
Performance
The KSE-index was 11,141.29 points on March 14, 2007. The free-float KSE-30 share index shed 4.63 per cent to 12,750.28 points.
Dealers said investors were concerned on many fronts, especially about politics and growing economic imbalances.
The KSE-index has lost 20.7 per cent since the beginning of the year, and is 29 per cent lower since it set a life-high on April 21. It shed 10 per cent last week.
A coalition government that emerged from February elections has been preoccupied with the divisive questions of restoring judges President Pervez Musharraf fired last year, and Musharraf's own fate.
Investors had prospered thanks to economic reforms undertaken by a previous government made up of pro-Musharraf parties.
The new coalition government, however, has inherited worryingly high fiscal and current account deficits, and there are concerns that it has become too distracted by in-fighting over how to tackle Musharraf.
Dealers said an increase in the discount rate to 12 per cent last month had also deterred investment in the stock market.
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