Stocks lose 325 points on profit-taking
KARACHI: Stocks snapped three-day winning streak on Thursday as the KSE-100 index plunged 325.93 points (0.93 per cent) and closed at 34,570.62.
The day represented the classic case of old Wall Street adage: “Buy on Rumour, Sell on News”.
The expectation of approval of International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board’s signing of the loan package to Pakistan that had sparked interest in the market, materialised a day earlier.
In early trade, it sent the index soaring to intra-day high by 383 points. But the index could not hold on to the gains and succumbed to selling pressure as economic malaise and the political noise prompted investors to take profit.
The index thus went into a downward spiral and landed at intra-day low by 430 points. Banks sold stock worth $1.38 million and insurance companies trimmed their portfolio by $2.18m.