Pakistani stocks end 0.71 down, but seen strong

KARACHI, April 22 (Reuters) - Pakistani stocks ended 0.71 percent lower on Tuesday, a day after hitting a new life high, and dealers said the market looked set to post further gains in days ahead. The Karachi Stock Exchange's (KSE) benchmark 100-share index .KSE ended 111.27 points down at 15,543.52. The index had hit a record intraday peak of 15,739.25 on Monday.

Turnover was about 146 million shares, up from 132 million a day earlier. Losers beat gainers 203 to 137.

The free-float KSE-30 share index shed 0.85 percent to close at 18,799.52.

Ashraf Zakaria, a dealer at brokers Ali Hussain Rajabali and Co., said with the index at record levels, a correction was overdue.

"We were expecting a correction and the good thing is that there was only some profit-taking, and no panic," he said.

"Any correction like this one is always good for a market. We expect the market to stay strong, with similar brief corrections on its way to the eventual target of 16,000."

Among volume leaders, JS Bank JSBK.KA gained 4.8 percent to 23.00 rupees, Hub Power Co Ltd (HPWR.KA: Quote, Profile, Research) was up 1.2 percent to 34.40 rupees, while Azgard Nine (AZNL.KA: Quote, Profile, Research) lost 5 percent to close at 91.60 rupees. (Reporting by Faisal Aziz)