Today News From Pakistan

KARACHI, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Pakistani stocks closed lower on Monday as local institutions booked profits above 9,000 points, pulling the market back from Friday's 2009 closing high, dealers said.

The Karachi Stock Exchange's (KSE) benchmark 100-share index .KSE fell 66.81 points (0.74 per cent) to 8,935.86 on Monday on turnover of 170.4 million shares.

The KSE-index has gained 52.36 percent this year after losing 58.3 percent in 2008.

"There was some resistance above 9,000 points and we witnessed some profit selling," said Sajid Bhanji, a dealer at brokers' Arif Habib Ltd.

Dealers said the sentiment was still positive but the market may consolidate around current levels before crossing 9,000 points.

Dealers said foreign investors have been looking at Pakistan because its macroeconomic fundamentals were improving but there was selling from local institutions.

According to official data, foreign investors bought net shares worth $95.3 million in August and over $62 million in the first four days of September.

Last month, S&P raised Pakistan's sovereign rating to B-minus from CCC .LINK...