Stocks slide on economic fears

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KARACHI: Stock prices at Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) fell by more than 1.3 percent on Thursday after the prime minister said Pakistan faced more of an economic threat than a political one, while a wider sell-off dented regional markets, dealers said.

The Karachi Stock Exchange's benchmark 100-share index ended 1.32 percent, or 165.74 points, lower at 12,411.81.

Turnover fell to 183.6 million shares from 188 million shares on Wednesday.

"Investors booked profits across the board as regional markets fell, and on concerns over the country's deteriorating economic indicators," a stock dealer said.

"I do not see any political threat to my government but the country faces an economic threat," Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Wednesday.