Pakistan stocks decline sharply

Karachi: Pakistani stocks fell over four per cent to their lowest level in more than two years in intra-day trading yesterday, as investors sold blue chips such as OGDC on political tension, forcing authorities to consider steps to stabilise the market.

An official from the Karachi Stock Exchange said its board of directors met after 0900 GMT to decide on steps to stabilise the market. The exchange had met representatives of top stock brokers earlier yesterday.

No further details were available, and decisions from the meeting were expected to be announced later on the day.

The benchmark Karachi Stock Exchange index closed down 3.03 per cent at 9,144.93 points, after falling as much as 4.6 per cent to a low of 8,999.36 points, a level last seen in June 2006.

Tanvir Abid, the head of institutional sales at IGI Securities, said in a note to clients that the exchange received proposals to freeze the benchmark index at yesterday's closing level and to suspend trading at its earlier meeting with stock brokers.

A proposal to freeze the index could be done by setting a floor to share prices to ensure they do not fall below yesterday's closing levels, Abid said.