The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) faced massive selling pressure on Monday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index plunging over 2,000 points to close below the 116,500 level.
The market remained under pressure throughout the trading session, dragging the benchmark KSE-100 Index to an intra-day low of 116,257.51.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 116,439.62 level, a decrease of 2,002.55 points or 1.69%.
Selling was seen in key sectors including oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, refineries, automobile assemblers cement and fertilizer. Index-heavy stocks including DGKC, HBL, MARI, OGDC, PPL and PSO settled in the red.
Market experts attributed the market decline to several factors.
“The cement sector is down amid reports that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is proposing a significant change in the royalty structure for cement manufacturers,” Sana Tawfik, Head of Research at Arif Habib Limited (AHL), told media.
Secondly, volumes are low amid the upcoming Eid holidays. “Moreover, this is a roll-over week, the market is under pressure,” she added.
Last week, the PSX maintained a jubilant streak, closing at an all-time high of 118,442.18 points compared to 115,536.17 points in the previous week.
Internationally, financial markets made a mixed start on Monday with US stock futures rising but the dollar wavering ahead of a week driven by data, Chinese earnings and the threat of steep US tariff hikes on the horizon.
S&P 500 futures were up about 0.6% in the Asia morning and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.8%. Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed about 0.2%.
The week holds global purchasing managers index gauges, the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation reading, inflation data in Australia and Japan, a budget update in Britain and major earnings in China.
But it is likely to be updates on US President Donald Trump’s plans for global reciprocal tariffs from April 2 that drive markets, and after a volatile month for stocks, bonds and currencies, analysts said there is no obvious trade ahead.
Trump has vowed to impose a complicated barrage of tariffs next week, the details of which are not clear save that they are to be calculated to reflect the impact of foreign tariffs and foreign value-added taxes on imports.
The S&P 500 eked out a gain on Friday after Trump hinted at flexibility. However, after a rollercoaster first two months in power – including tariff hits on China, Mexico and Canada – traders are shy of betting that Trump is ready to cut deals.
Ten-year US Treasury yields have fallen nearly 40 basis points from mid-February highs and were last steady at 4.27% and investors have been drawn abroad from US stocks, with sharp rallies in Hong Kong and Europe as Wall Street fell.
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