Pakistan shares close lower

KARACHI: Pakistan shares closed lower on Friday, as cement and fertilizer stocks fell on reports the government had cut the price of urea and on market talk that it had abolished customs duty on cement imports, dealers said.

The benchmark 100-share index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange closed down 0.68 percent, or 272.12 points, at 39,499.08."The cement and fertilizer sector led the market to fall on Friday amid rumors of abolishing duty from imported cement and government decision to reduce urea prices by over a quarter to combat glut," said Fawad Khan, head of research at KASB Securities Pvt Ltd.

Fauji Fertilizer Company Ltd fell 1.05 percent, Engro Fertilizer Ltd declined 1.45 percent, D G Khan Cement Company Ltd dropped 2.55 percent and Lucky Cement Ltd lost 1.14 percent.

The rupee ended steady at 104.67/104.71 against the dollar, compared with Thursday´s close of 104.68/104.72.Overnight rates in the money market rose to 6.10 percent from Thursday´s close of 5.70 percent.