PSX Sheds Over 550 Points During Intraday Crash After Imran Khan’s Arrest

Bears ran riot at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) today, with the benchmark KSE-100 index losing over 550 points in intraday trading after law enforcement agencies arrested former Prime Minister Imran Khan at Islamabad High Court, a dramatic move that threatens more chaos in the country. Losing 551.76 points in the session, the benchmark KSE 100 index recorded an intraday low of 41,277.73. The index settled lower by 455.68 points at 41,373.81. The KMI 30 index slid by 1,063.87 points closing at 70,892.46, meanwhile the KSE All share index plunged by 252.25 points settling at 27,353.87. According to Capital Stake, sectors driving the benchmark KSE 100 towards a negative zone included the Banking sector (109.45 points), Oil and Gas Exploration sector (78.30 points), and the Fertilizer sector (56.31 points). Companies that dragged the index lower included, Habib Bank Limited (HBL 59.94 points), Dawood Hercules Corporation Limited (DAWH 35.26 points), and Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC 33.11 points). Overall market volumes appreciated from 179.02 million shares in the previous session to 203.00 million shares. Companies showing the highest participation were Worldcall Telecom Limited (WTL -3.33 percent), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP +0.05 percent), and K-Electric (KEL -2.53 percent). The scrips had 31.00 million shares, 10.61 million shares, and 8.27 million shares traded, respectively. The Refinery sector lost 1.85 percent in its cumulative market capitalization. Cynergyico PK Limited (CNERGY 2.87 percent), Attock Refinery Limited (ATRL 1.02 percent), National Refinery Limited (NRL 1.95 percent), and Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL 2.05 percent) all closed in red. Equity markets around the globe showed mixed trends. Crude oil prices moved south with WTI crude oil price falling by 1.05 percent to $72.39. Brent crude oil was down by 0.99 percent to $76.25.