KARACHI – The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a historic bloodbath on Monday, with the benchmark KSE-100 index crashing by over 12,000 points, triggering a temporary halt in trading as panic-stricken investors rushed to exit the market.
Market Crash in Numbers
The trading session began with extreme volatility, quickly escalating into a full-scale rout. The KSE-100 index hit a low of 145,152 points, marking a staggering decline of 7.84%. Meanwhile, the KSE-30 index dropped by 3,133 points (6.93%), reaching 45,196 points before trading was suspended. Following the massive dip, market operations were halted for one hour to stabilize the situation before resuming later in the session.
Key Drivers Behind the Meltdown
Financial experts point toward a “perfect storm” of domestic and international factors causing this capital flight. The escalating conflict between the USA and Iran has sent shockwaves through global markets, leading to record-breaking increases in international oil prices. This surge has raised fears of a massive spike in Pakistan’s import bill and inflation. Furthermore, investors are wary of the upcoming Monetary Policy announcement, with strong rumors of a significant hike in interest rates dampening market sentiment.
Investor Sentiment
Market analysts observed that the heightened regional uncertainty has prompted foreign and local investors to prioritize capital withdrawal over fresh investments. The sheer scale of the point drop represents one of the most significant single-day contractions in the history of the exchange.
