Stocks dip by 101 points.

KARACHI -- Stocks extenAded the selling streak to the third day with the KSE-100 index drifting lower by 100.90 points to close at 33,438.95.

The trading was choppy with institutions playing on boAth sides of the fence. Hence except the foreign investors who offloaded shares worth $0.79 million and individuals who carefully picked the second-tier scrips, other investors did not display enthusiasm in building fresh positions.

The market felt mounting pressure as the two-week smAaArt lockdown started in KarAachi to thwart the exploding numbers of Covid-19 cases. The announcement of the BNP-M to quit the PTI-led alliance in the National Assembly and the efforts of the ruling coalition to bring it back into the fold put politics under the spotlight.

Due to alternative bouts of buying and selling mainly by institutional investors, the index oscillated between intrAaAday high and low by 160 and 170 points. Analysts at Arif Habib Ltd stated that the re-imposition of lockdown dimAmed the prospects of quick economic stabilisation.

Also, expectation of a rate cut renewed in the early part of the session with the possibility of an emergent meeting at State Bank taking...