US attack hits Karachi market

A dollar selling spree gripped the open money market

By Idrees Bakhtiar in Karachi

Pakistan's biggest stock exchange has suffered one of its heaviest losses ever in reaction to events in the United States.

The main index at the Karachi stock market has dropped nearly 50 points and traders say there is still heavy selling pressure.

Stock market officials said about 90 million shares were sold on Wednesday, a big jump from Tuesday's figure of 22 million.

They said the market opened weak with the main index at 1,255 points. It fell further and at one point lost almost 4%.

The index recovered slightly to close the day at 1,208 points, a loss of 3.8%.

Some analysts say there is little chance of the market recovering in the next few days.