KARACHI: Pakistan stocks declined on the final trading day of the week, as hoax about expected investigations against some brokers triggered abrupt panic selling, which pushed the index in deep red zone. The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE)-100 index lost 506.25 points to close at 33,891.08 points as compared to 34,397.33 of the previous session. The KSE-30 Index shed 351.11 points and closed at 20,627.83 points against 20,978.94 points of the last closing. “Pakistan equities tumbled to levels below 34,000 on the last trading day of the week as the investors tracked regional markets. Turnover on the benchmark KSE-100 was the lowest in nine weeks as participants hunted for triggers while rumours of broker investigations also led to the slide,” said Elixir Securities’ analyst Faisal Bilwani. The stocks opened sideways and traded dull in early trade while sharp dips in PM session tested nerves with selling across the board as KSE100 swung near 1,000 points on the day, he added. Bilwani expects the global markets and commodities to guide direction early next week while rumours or update over the weekend on broker investigations would also have an impact on the sentiment. He said that mixed oils trading was observed as volatility in the international crude kept most investors at bay while the fertilisers took a breather on rumours of higher than earlier expected urea imports that led to profit booking. “On a day where the wider market struggled to sustain gains, most activity was in small and mid cap stocks that kept the retail investors busy hunting for a quick buck,” he added. Habib Metropolitan Financial Services’ analyst Kumail Chevelwalla said it was a dynamic day at the local equity market as fears deepen that anti-corruption drive may lead to investigations on some stockbrokers. JS Research’s analyst Ahmed Saeed Khan said volatility prevailed as the market juggled more than a thousand points to hit -807 points at its lowest point and +233 at its highest point (opening). The market sentiment was baffled as news circulated of regulators being active and serving notices demanding explanations from various capital market participants, Khan added. The market volume decreased to 231.011 million shares traded as compared to 260.294 million shares traded in the previous session. Trading value at the local bourse fell to Rs 9.592 billion against Rs 10.458 billion of the previous session. Out of 384 scrips, 70 scrips advanced, 294 scrips declined while the value of 20 scrips remained unchanged. The KMI-30 index dropped by 1,085.40 points to close at 56,368.49 points as compared to 57,453.89 points of the previous session. The KSE all-share index went 295.22 points down to close at 23,736.77 points as compared to 24,031.99 points of the previous session. Dewan Cement was the volume leader in the market with 21.778 million shares as it closed at Rs 17.88 followed by TRG Pak with trading of 13.362 million shares and closed at Rs 37.36. Pace (pak) LTD traded 13.582 million shares and closed at Rs 11.44.