Karachi - Pakistan stocks plunged 3.89 per cent on Friday amid constant foreign selling attributed to US allegations that the country's military was supporting Islamic militancy in neighbouring Afghanistan, traders said.

The key KSE-100 Index of the Karachi Stock Exchange fell by over 412 points to close at 10,171 as the New York Times on Thursday cited a new CIA assessment saying Pakistani intelligence agents were involved in the July 7 bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul that killed 54 people.

The conclusions were reached on the basis of communications intercepted between the attackers and Pakistani intelligence officers, the Times reported.

The 30-share index BSE Sensex, which opened with a negative gap of around 300 points and lost more than 320 points to touch the day’s low, has regained over 516.51 points and entered into the positive zone.

It has gained over 200 points to touch the high of 14,549.56 on the back of big improvement in the majority of Asian indices. Hang Seng, Shanghai indices turned into positive terrain after wiping off its previous losses.

The recovery was mainly led by BSE Metal, Consumer Goods and Oil and Gas.

After opening positively on Thursday (July 31), Indian equities continued to remain volatile all through the day on account of F&O expiry and high inflation figures.

BSE Midcap and Smallcap index closed on a negative note after declining 0.24% and 0.21% respectively.

The majority of Asian stocks climbed up on Thursday, led by mining companies as oil rates surged over $ 4 per barrel on July 30, and metals advanced.

Tokyo - Stocks lost more than 2 per cent in Tokyo Friday as concerns over the US economy grew stronger among the market players.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average tumbled 295.88 points, or 2.21 per cent, to 13,080.93.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues also fell 31.67 points, or 2.43 per cent, to 1,271.95.

New York - Stocks retreated on Wall Street Thursday after US economic growth was less than analysts had predicted.

The US economy grew at 1.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2008, the government said Thursday, shaking off an ongoing credit and housing crisis that had some predicting a recession in the first half of the year.

The gross domestic product (GDP) figure was up from a revised 0.9 per cent in the first quarter, but less than the 2.3 per cent economists had predicted for the world's largest economy, according to Bloomberg financial news.

New York  - Stocks retreated on Wall Street Thursday after US economic growth was less than analysts had predicted.

The US economy grew at 1.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2008, the government said Thursday, shaking off an ongoing credit and housing crisis that had some predicting a recession in the first half of the year.

The gross domestic product (GDP) figure was up from a revised 0.9 per cent in the first quarter, but less than the 2.3 per cent economists had predicted for the world's largest economy, according to Bloomberg financial news.