Stocks shed 195 points on macro concerns.

KARACHI -- Investors at the Pakistan stock market opted to book profit and move to the sidelines on Monday as the news flow triggered uncertainty. The KSE-100 index fell 195 points (0.57 per cent) and closed at 33,916.64.

The bearish regional markets; uneasy relationship mounting between the US and China with threat to international trade; reclining global oil prices; State Bank projection that Pakistan's GDP may contract by 2pc to 3pc if the lockdown continues for 60 days; and the worrying increase in coronavirus cases all dented investor sentiments. To add to it all, the spectre of MSCI review, due on the 12th, raised its ugly head stoking concerns of a potential downgrade from emerging to frontier markets.

The index opened weak and fell to intraday low by 402 points after a spell of buying that saw it lift for a while to intraday high by 52 points. Due to pressure on oil prices, exploration and production and oil marketing companies saw mixed trading.

Investors were disinclined to take positions in banks as prospects of a further...