Bears Tighten Grip on PSX as KSE-100 Sheds 1,500 Points 

Bears tightened their grip on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as the benchmark KSE-100 Index lost 1,500 more points on Thursday.  After reaching a peak of 114,330 points, the KSE-100 closed at 112,648 points, down 1,510 points or 1.34 percent with significant decline in trading volumes.  A total of 695,142,411 shares were traded during the day as compared to 1,099,982,065 shares the previous trading day, whereas the price of shares stood at Rs 24.3 billion against Rs. 32.46 billion on the last trading day.       453 companies transacted their shares in the stock market today with 89 recording gains and 320 sustaining losses, whereas the share price of 44 companies remained unchanged.  The drop in the index was mainly driven by ENGROH, MARI, MEBL, LUCK, and EFERT, which collectively contributed to a loss of 615 points, said brokerage house Topline Securities.  The KSE-100 lost 1,332 points on Monday before going down by another 202 points on Tuesday followed by a decline of 1,904 points yesterday.  In a press conference today, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmed said that the country was meeting its economic targets, with its debt level and balance of payments still under control. The central bank chief said that inflation is expected to lower further this month, followed by fluctuations over the coming 4-5 months.