Pakistan stocks hit 4-year high; rupee weakens vs dollar

KARACHI Aug 31 (Reuters) - Pakistani stocks closed at a four-year high on Friday after investors were encouraged by a slowdown in inflation, dealers said.

The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-share index closed 0.90 percent, or 137.87 points, higher at 15,391.58, on volume of 13.12 million shares.

Pakistan's Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 9.1 percent in August from a year earlier, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics said on Friday. The year-on-year rate was 9.60 percent in July.

"A further slowdown in inflation numbers enticed investors to take fresh positions," said Samar Iqbal, a trader at Topline Securities.

In the currency market, the Pakistani rupee ended slightly weaker at 94.56/94.61 to the dollar, compared to Thursday's close of 94.48/94.54.

Overnight rates in the money market ended at 10.40 percent compared with 7.50 on Thursday. (Reporting By Aisha Chowdhry)