Index slides as textile maker slumps

Karachi:  Pakistan's Karachi Stock Exchange 100 Index fell 171.58, or 1.8 per cent, to 9,439.97.

Azgard Nine Limited, a Pakistani textile maker, fell 5.7 per cent to Rs13.17, its steepest fall in almost two months, after it said it plans to disinvest its shareholding in Agritech Limited, a fertilizer maker.

"Investors reacted to the announcement," said Shahrukh Naqvi, head of sales at Invest Capital & Securities Limited. "The company was already in bad shape."

Azgard said in a filing to the stock exchange it plans to disinvest its shareholdings in Agritech to support its debt restructuring strategy.

Jahangir Siddiqui & Company, a financial services firm, fell 7.3 per cent to Rs12.67, its lowest in three years, after the announcement. Jahangir Siddiqui & Company owns 25 per cent of Azgard Nine.