Stocks shed 96 points ahead of six-day Eid closure.

KARACHI -- Stocks remained volatile in the last session before the six-day Eid holidays. Investors engaged in quick bouts of buying and selling but the profit-takers finally won over the value-buyers as there was more of a nervousness on holding large positions.

The KSE-100 index lost 96 points (0.3 per cent) and closed at 33,837. Unadjusted decline at the close stood at just 18 points since much of the sell-off was seen in the last 15 minutes of trading time.

During the day, the benchmark moved between the intraday high and low by 116 points and 175 points. Analyst Ahsan Mehanti said that the foreign outflows, dismal data of $572 million current account deficit in April, drop in exports and remittances played the catalyst role in bearish close.

All four stocks in the exploration and production attracted buyers as international oil prices continue to recover. Pakistan Petroleum, Oil and Gas Development Company, Pakistan Oilfields and Mari Petroleum closed higher. Cement shares were mainly weak while the banking sector also fell prey to the selling pressure, in the...