Stocks suffered heavy declines on Tuesday as the KSE-100 index plunged by 326.44 points or 1.10 per cent to close at 29,324.60.
Brokers and analysts argued that the market was not weighed down by the military operation in North Waziristan as the market started firm with the benchmark index climbing 137 points to intra-day high at 29,787.98 points.
Analysts said that the early trigger was the news of government considering gradual increase in Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) rates instead of 200pc earlier sought through the Finance Bill 2014-15.
“Investors recognised it to be positive for wide range of sectors,” said Raza Jafri, head of research at AKD Securities.
At around mid-day, stocks started to drop as nervous investors ran for cover. Profit taking was evident on almost all sectors.
The TV grabs of mayhem on the streets of Lahore threw most equities in a tailspin.
