Stocks plunge 758 points on mutual fund sell-off
KARACHI: Pre-election jitters sent shares reeling down on Monday with the KSE-100 index down by 758 points (1.84 per cent) to close at 40,464.
The index was washed off nearly three-quarters of all the gains made last week. The sell-off was led by asset managers as mutual funds were the major spoilers of the market dumping stocks worth $9m, according to figures released by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.
Incidentally, foreign investors turned net buyers of $2.4m worth shares. The remaining mutual fund selling was absorbed by individuals who purchased net $5m of shares.
Institutions stayed on the sidelines, reluctant to take fresh positions before the Wednesday’s general elections, which was noted by an almost 51pc decline in volume over the last session and 42pc in traded value of stocks.
Retail names dominated the top ten volume leaders as Pakistan International Bulk Terminal, K-Electric, Lotte Chemical, Bank of Punjab and DG Khan Cement collectively contributed 31pc to total turnover.