Selling pressure gripped the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding nearly 6,500 points — the largest single-day decline in terms of points — amid rising tensions between Pakistan and India.
The index saw some buying at the start of the session, hitting an intra-day high of 111,881.03.
However, selling returned in the later hours, pushing the index to an intra-day low of 101,598.91.
The benchmark index settled at 103,526.82, down by 6,482.21 points or 5.89%.
“The market crash followed alarming geopolitical developments after ISPR Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry announced that Pakistani forces had neutralised 25 drones sent by India since last night.
“The statement sent shockwaves through financial markets, triggering widespread panic selling amid fears of escalating cross-border hostilities. Investors rushed to offload positions, leading to a broad-based decline across sectors,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.
The largest drag on the benchmark index came from FFC, MARI, UBL, OGDC, and PPL, which collectively eroded 2,051 points from the KSE-100.
Trading was earlier halted at the PSX for an hour after the benchmark index plummeted by nearly 7,000 points, triggering the suspension, only to drop another 1,400 points when trading resumed, hitting an intra-day low of 101,598.90.
“If tensions escalate further than selling pressure will persist until clarity is achieved,” Sana Tawfik, Head of Research at Arif Habib Limited, told media during intra-day trading.
At least one person died on Wednesday night after the Pakistan Army shot down an Indian drone following unprovoked airstrikes by New Delhi.
At least 31 Pakistanis were martyred and dozens were injured in Indian missile attacks inside Pakistan, DG ISPR said on Wednesday.
In retaliation, the Pakistan military brought down five Indian Air Force jets, including three Rafale, one MiG-21, and one SU-30, following Indian missile attacks.
On Wednesday, the KSE-100 recovered a portion of its losses, but still settled with a loss of over 3,500 points at 110,009.02.
Internationally, shares in Asia firmed on Thursday after US President Donald Trump flagged a first trade deal in his global tariff war, while the dollar tried to hold overnight gains as markets pushed out the chance of near-term rate cuts.
S&P 500 futures erased earlier losses to be up 0.5% while Nasdaq futures rose 0.7%. The pan-European STOXX 600 index climbed 0.7% and FTSE futures gained 0.5%.
Trump said late on Wednesday that he would announce details about a major trade deal with an unspecified country at a press conference later in the day. The New York Times reported that the deal was with Britain.
The president’s comments came as investors anxiously await planned trade talks between Washington and Beijing on Saturday, which could mark the first step in resolving a potentially damaging trade war between the world’s top two economies.
Markets are also keeping their eyes peeled on the Bank of England’s policy meeting later in the day where expectations are for a quarter-point rate cut. Additionally, central banks in Sweden and Norway are due to deliver their latest policy decisions, although no moves are expected.
Overnight, in a widely expected decision, the Federal Reserve left policy rate in the 4.25%-4.5% range, but said the risks of higher inflation and unemployment had risen. Chair Jerome Powell said it isn’t clear if the economy will continue its steady pace of growth, or wilt under mounting uncertainty and a possible coming spike in inflation.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee posted a marginal decline for the fifth straight session against the US dollar, depreciating 0.02% in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At close, the local currency settled at 281.52, a loss of Re0.05 against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index increased to 653.55 million from 550.08 million recorded in the previous close.
The value of shares rose to Rs35.44 billion from Rs30.12 billion in the previous session.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 93.25 million shares, followed by Kohinoor Spining with 28.48 million shares, and K-Electric Ltd with 27.06 million shares.
Shares of 450 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 35 registered an increase, 373 recorded a fall, while 42 remained unchanged.
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