Pakistani stocks, rupee end flat ahead of holiday

KARACHI, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Pakistani stocks ended flat on Thursday as investors kept to the sidelines ahead of a long weekend, dealers said.

Financial markets will be closed from Friday to Monday for the Eid al-Adha holiday.

The Karachi Stock Exchange .KSE benchmark 100-share index ended 0.02 percent, or 1.64 points, higher at 9,206.21 on turnover of 67 million shares.

"There was barely any activity as investors did not want to take fresh positions ahead of the four-day holiday," said Ahfaz Mustafa, director at Ismail Iqbal Securities Ltd.

Dealers said turnover was also low in the absence of any positive triggers following a 50 basis points cut in the policy rate on Tuesday. The cut was expected and had been discounted in the market.

The State Bank of Pakistan cut the rate by 50 basis points to 12.5 percent for December and January to spur economic growth, but it remained cautious because of the country's security problems which it said could lead to "fiscal uncertainties". [ID:nSIN518291]

The army is attacking militants in northwestern strongholds. The militants have responded with bombs in towns and cities.

The KSE-100 index has gained 60.0 percent this year after losing 57.9 percent last year.

In the currency market, the rupee ended at 83.47/57 to the dollar compared with Wednesday's close of 83.50/57.