KSE 100-index ends flat on first day of new fiscal year

KARACHI: The Karachi Stock Exchange's (KSE) benchmark 100-share index ended 0.09 percent, or 11.86 points, lower at 12,484.17,on turnover of only 34.69 million shares.

Stocks ended marginally lower on Friday in light trade as most institutions stayed out of the market on the first day of the new fiscal year.

"There was not much activity in the market, and most institutions were absent on the first day of the new fiscal year," said Khalid Iqbal Siddiqui, director at brokers Invest and Finance Securities Ltd.

Friday was also a bank holiday.

"There was no trigger in the market, and we saw little interest in the blue chips. Most of the activity was witnessed in second-tier stocks," he said.

Volume has generally been low in the outgoing 2011/11 fiscal year. Average daily volumes during the year fell to a nine-year low, analysts said.

Topline Securities brokers said in a report this week that trade was also damaged by security concerns, the economic slowdown, higher interest rates and the re-introduction of a capital gains tax (CGT) after a 30-year gap. (Reuters)