Pakistan stocks down amid row over judges

Karachi: Pakistani stocks ended more than one per cent lower on Monday as a potentially destabilising dispute between the Supreme Court and the president over judicial appointments worried investors, dealers said.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday played down the threat of political instability after the Supreme Court the previous day blocked a presidential order appointing two judges.

But despite Gilani's comments, the row is likely to become a distraction for a government struggling to fight militants and to get a sluggish economy on track.

The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-share index .KSE ended 1.06 per cent, or 104.06 points, lower at 9,701.81. Volume was at a one-month low as 78.86 million shares were traded.

Political uncertainty also kept foreign investors away.