Pakistan stocks drop 2%, rupee unchanged

Karachi: Pakistani stocks ended more than 2 per cent lower on Tuesday after a four-day holiday on fears of a fallout from the debt restructuring in Dubai. dealers said.

The Karachi Stock Exchange KSE benchmark 100-share index ended 2.10 per cent, or 193.17 points, lower at 9,013.04 on turnover of 74.16 million shares.

"Concerns over the Dubai restructuring triggered selling and there were fears that it may slow down the pace of remittances and foreign direct investment flows," said Furqan Punjani, an analyst at Topline Securities.

According to the latest official data, remittances from Pakistanis overseas rose 32 per cent in the first four months of the 2009/10 (July-June) fiscal year.

In the currency market, the rupee ended at 83.48/58 to the dollar compared with Saturday's close of 83.47/57.