Anger as Pakistan stocks plummet

17/07/2008| IslamWeb

There have been violent protests at the stock exchange in Karachi after shares on the Pakistani stock market plummeted again.

The exchange's benchmark 100-share index was down 4.2 per cent at 10,056 points on Thursday afternoon amid growing economic and political uncertainty.

As shares values dropped for the 14th consecutive day, hundreds of small investors gathered in the main hall of the exchange building to demand trading be halted.

When officials refused, some people smashed windows in the exchange and nearby banks, Mohammed Aslam, the exchange's security chief, said.

Two protesters were reportedly injured as scuffles broke out.

In the eastern city of Lahore, about 100 small investors staged another protest, burning tyres and blocking the road to the local exchange demanding government action.

There was a similar protest outside the Islamabad exchange, where chants of "Go democracy, go" rang out.

18-month low

 The index is at an 18-month low and has fallen about 36 per cent from an all-time high in April.

 Analysts say that investors are also wary because of rising tensions on the Afghan-Pakistani border following Kabul's accusations of Pakistani involvement in attacks in Afghanistan.

Divisions in the new coalition government over whether to work with Pervez Musharraf, the president, or seek to have him removed from office have also created concerns. 

Pakistan's poor performance this year is not unique in a region grappling with soaring food and energy prices and slowing global growth. Neighbouring India's shares are down some 38 per cent from earlier this year.

 

PHOTO CAPTION:

The violence saw windows smashed at the Karachi stock exchange and nearby banks [AFP]

 

 Al-Jazeera