[mkjan]

Pakistan's stocks further plunged by another 160 points Friday on the country's continued grim economic outlook and volatile foreign currency market, analysts said. At one point the key KSE-100 Index was down by 300 points but recovered in the second half by around 150 points to close at 14,288.67 points against 14,388.52 points on Thursday. The Karachi bourse lost 66 points on Thursday.

Dealers say the volatility in the rupee which has fallen by more than 3.6 per cent to an all-time record of 70 against the US dollar was the main concern of panic selling.

"The volatility in the currency market was the key factor in the market," said Ateeq Ahmed, senior analyst at Capital One Equities.

Dealers say lack of foreign investors due to Pakistan's weak economic fundamentals is casting a shadow over the market and that the overall outlook remains dismal for next week.