KARACHI: Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) ended more than two percent lower on Friday in panic selling, amid ongoing tension between Pakistan and the United States following a deadly drone strike on Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, dealers said.
KSE benchmark 100-share index ended 2.12 percent, or 251.66 points, lower at 11,606.61. Turnover was 125.13 million shares, compared with 117 million shares traded a day earlier.
"Panic selling was witnessed in blue chip stocks after the foreign office summoned the US Ambassador and the army chief, and termed the US Strike as unjustified and intolerable," said Ahsan Mehanti, director at Arif Habib Investments Ltd.
In the currency market, the rupee firmed to end at 85.35/45 to the dollar, strengthening from Thursday's close of 85.40/50, and dealers said the local unit was expected to hold steady, thanks to rising dollar inflows largely from remittances.
Remittances rose by 20 percent to $6.96 billion in the first eight months of the 2010/11 fiscal year, compared to the same period the previous year, according to central bank data.
In the money market, overnight rates stayed at top level of 13.90 percent, unchanged from Thursday's close as there were scheduled net outflows of 111 billion rupees ($1.3 billion), against inflows of 43 billion rupees ($503 million).
Dealers expect rates to remain on the higher side amid tight liquidity in the interbank market.
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