PSX Crashes By Nearly 8,500 Points [Updated]

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a bloodbath on Monday as the benchmark KSE-100 index plummeted by nearly 8,500 points during intraday trade. At 1:15 PM, it was down by 8,455 points or 7.12 percent at 110,335. KSE-100 closed at 114,909, down 3.27 percent or 3,882 points. Before close, the market halted at 12 PM after dropping over 5 percent and trying to cool down. It resumed after 60 minutes. This was the worst intraday drop in terms of points for the benchmark index. According to JS Global, it was the 10th worst trading session in terms of percentage. Asian stock markets and US futures plunged on Monday amid escalating fears of a global trade war, prompting investors to increase bets on a potential recession. The market downturn continued from the previous two days, during which trillions of dollars in equity value were lost following Donald Trump’s announcement of huge trade tariffs last week. Massive selling pressure saw the KSE-100 index lose 3,303 points to crash to 115,488 points, down 2.78 percent over the previous closing. At 10 AM, the benchmark KSE-100 index stood at 115,875, down by 2.45 percent or 2,915 points. At 11:55 AM, it tumbled to 113,170, down by 5,621 points or 4.73 percent. According to experts, being an import-led economy, Pakistan may actually benefit from the imposition of US tariffs due to a potential decline in global commodity prices. While these tariffs carry short-term risks, particularly for the textile sector, analysts believe the overall impact of the US trade policy could turn out to be neutral or even positive for Pakistan—especially if low commodity prices persist. Following global market crash Pakistan Market lost 3.3% today owing to the escalating tariff war initiated by the USA and subsequently retaliated by other nations, CEO Topline Securities Mohammed Sohail said in a statement. At the sector level, Oil and Gas exploration sector, Technology, and Textile sector are expected to be affected as these are either linked to the global commodity prices (like crude oil) or linked with global aggregate demand. On the other hand, amidst lower oil prices, inflation might ease down and can help reduce interest rates further, which may result in lower earnings of the Banks going forward as well. On the macro side, every $10/barrel decline in oil prices results in import bill savings of US$ 2 billion for crude oil, refined oil (petrol diesel), and RLNG import. Assuming a decline of 5-10 percent in textile exports to USA (which is US$ 250-500 million), the country will save net US$ 1-1.5 billion in import bill. A total of 110,474,030 shares were traded during the day so far. The price of shares stood at Rs. 6.38 billion. 450 companies transacted their shares in the stock market today, with 52 of them recording gains and 357 sustaining losses, whereas the share price of 41 companies remained unchanged. On the macro side, every $10/barrel decline in oil prices results in import bill savings of US$ 2 billion for crude oil, refined oil (petrol diesel), and RLNG import. Assuming a decline of 5-10 percent in textile exports to USA (which is US$ 250-500 million), the country will save net US$ 1-1.5 billion in import bill.