The bourse witnessed a sharp decline on Monday as the KSE-100 Index went down by more than 6,000 points, reflecting a severe loss of investor confidence driven by global market turmoil and unresolved domestic policy issues.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX)’s benchmark index had dropped to an intraday low of 112,504.44, reflecting a drop of 6,287.22 points, or -5.29%. It had touched a high of 117,601.62, still down by 1,190.04 points (-1.00%) from the previous close of 118,791.66.
Analysts pointed to both external and domestic triggers for the PSX’s sharp pullback.
“Investors are reacting to the uncertainty emanating from the Trump tariffs and in particular, its fallout both in the US and Asian Markets,” said Mustafa Mustansir, Director of Research and Business Development at Taurus Securities Limited.
“Apart from this, some of the negative sentiment also seems to have come from the delays in finalisation of the government’s bank borrowing plan to settle power sector circular debt.
Also, investors do not seem to have appreciated the cut in power tariffs as a major portion of these cuts is going to be temporary, with no adjustment to the base tariff,” he added.
Head of Research at Al Meezan Investment, Amreen Soorani, said: “The KSE-100 index has seen a substantial drop today during the market hours, losses exceeding 3% since the start of the session.”
“Contributing factors have been global market meltdowns, including concerns about international trade tensions, following a potential recession period,” she added.
Major stock indexes plunged in Asia as White House officials showed no sign of backing away from their sweeping tariff plans.
