KSE-100 Falls by Over 4,000 Points

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw a sharp selloff on Monday as escalating cross-border tensions with Afghanistan shook investor confidence, sending the benchmark KSE-100 Index down more than 4,000 points in early trading. During the session, the Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index reached an intraday low of 158,704 points, marking a decline of 4,394 points from the previous close of 163,098.19. “This is an overall correction and a healthy exchange of hands as investors reassess the impact of evolving domestic politics and violence along the eastern border,” said an analyst. The decline was broad-based, with heavy selling in key sectors such as automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies, refineries, and power generation. Major index movers, including HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, HBL, and UBL all traded deep in the red. Waqas Ghani, Head of Research at JS Global, echoed these views, attributing the market’s decline to weak investor sentiment following the escalation at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. “Investors remain cautious amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty and profit-taking after recent gains,” he said. The market rout follows intense overnight clashes along the Pak-Afghan border, where at least 23 Pakistani soldiers were killed and more than 200 militants died after an unprovoked attack from Afghan territory, according to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). The military’s media wing said fighting erupted late Saturday after Afghan Taliban fighters and affiliated groups, including the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), launched an offensive.