Stocks closed bearish with record trades on Thursday after fall in global stocks and commodities amid consolidation in blue chip stocks.

The benchmark KSE 100-share index shed 26.05 points or 0.15 per cent to end the day at 17921.02 points as compared to 17947.07 points of the previous day.Ahsan Mehanti, analyst at Arif Habib Corp, said index traded in narrow range amid investor interest mainly in second and third tier stocks. Bullish activity was witnessed in telecom stocks.

Weak global stocks and concerns for rising political uncertainty played a catalyst role in bearish activity in the earning announcement session at KSE despite hopes for early resolution of circular debt crises in the country and resolution of fertilizer sector gas distribution issues.

KSE allshare-index lost 20.43 points or 0.16 per cent to close the day at 12606.06 points, KSE 30-share index shed 46.42 points or 0.32 per cent to finish the day at 14669.25 points while KMI 30-share index went up by 3.25 points or 0.01 percent to conclude the session at 31124.98 points.

Market traded 349.532 million shares after opening 267.274 million shares and the value of traded shares minimized to Rs 8.604 billion from Rs 9.271 billion. Capitalization of stock market settled at Rs 4.464 trillion compared to Rs 4.472 trillion of a day earlier.

Equity dealer said correction in global stock markets compelled investors to trim their position as index approached key level of 18000 points. Court decision regarding international call triggered rally in telecom stocks like PTC, Telecard and Worldcall. PSO surprise bonus also helped its share price. Profit-taking was seen in cement and oil stocks.

Trading took place in 348 companies where losers outnumbered the gainers by 172 to 155 while the values of 21 stocks remained intact. UniLever Pak was the top price gainer of the day, up by Rs 201.40 to Rs 10560, followed by Colgate Palmolive, increased by Rs 25 to 1600. Bata (Pak) and Indus Dyieng SD were the biggest losers of the day, down by Rs 30 to Rs 1450 and Rs 15.71 to Rs 433.

Worldcall Telecom was the volume leader of the day with 55.152 million shares, up by Re 0.59 to Rs 3.70. PTCLA was on the second position with 42.278 million shares, up by Rs 1.08 to Rs 22.83. It was followed by JS Company with 32.584 million shares, added Re .058 to Rs 18.88, Telecard Limited with 30.298 million shares, higher by Rs 1 to Rs 6.10 and Maple Leaf Cement with 29.367 million shares, up by Re 0.73 to Rs 18.41.