Stocks tumble on border, political tensions

Distur­bances on the western border and comments from a former US official about the opposition leader’s incarceration further fuelled panic-selling in the stock market, resulting in the benchmark KSE 100 index extended overnight losses. Topline Securities Ltd said the index experienced a steeper decline, closing the session at 110,423 points, down by 1,991 points or 1.77pc day-on-day. The market had been influenced by increased leverage and the expiry of December contracts. Furthermore, the ongoing security concerns at the borders are affecting investor sentiment. Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said stocks fell sharply lower amid political uncertainty, concerns over cautious SBP policy easing and uncertainty over the outcome of slippages on tax collection IMF targets.