Despite clashes that killed at least 40 people overnight in Karachi,Pakistani stocks ended up on Tuesday as a few investors bought shares on hopes of strong profits,although trading was very thin. The clashes scared residents off its streets on Tuesday as Pakistan's largest city was on alert for more violence after the shooting of Raza Haider,a leader in the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) party,a dominant political party. The tension in the city caused the early closure of the market and kept investors on the sidelines,said Asad Iqbal,chief investment officer at Faysal Asset Management Ltd. The KSE authorities decided to close the market at 2:30 p.m.,an hour earlier than usual. Persistent law and order problems in the city in the upcoming days could have a negative impact on the market and negate any potential positivity arising from strong corporate results,said Iqbal. MCB Bank is due to announce its results on Thursday,and Pakistan Petroleum Ltd and Pakistan State Oil are scheduled to announced their results on Friday. In the currency market,the rupee ended at 85.74/80 to the dollar,compared with Monday's close of 85.77 Dealers said the rupee could come under pressure this week because of higher demand for dollars for import payments. The rupee fell to a record low of 85.80 on July 12 amid importers' high dollar demand as well as debt repayments. In the money market,overnight rates ended between 12.75 percent and 12.90 percent,compared with Monday's close of 12.90 percent and dealers said there were no scheduled inflows or outflows on Tuesday.
