KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) nosedived on Monday after the benchmark KSE-100 Index dropped over 2,200 points in the opening hours of the trading session, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic that has shattered the world, including Pakistan.
The KSE-100 index was down 1,974.47 points or 5.48 percent to stand at 34,086.41.
Earlier, trading was halted on Monday for 45 minutes at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as the KSE-100 index down 1651.28 points less than an hour into trading as panic over coronovirus(Covid-19) continues to frighten investors.
Trading was halted around 10:10am when the large cap KSE-30 index went down 5.53 per cent.
It is pertinent to note that trading has been halted at PSX for the fourth time in last two weeks.
A similar halt was observed on Monday last when the KSE-100 saw its biggest single-day fall in a decade and it was called black Monday.
Market Halt
“Market halt” procedure has been introduced by SECP in PSX regulations in December of 2019. The action triggers when the KSE-30 index moves 4 % either way and remains there for 5 consecutive minutes.
The objective of introducing market halt is to safeguard investors and market participants during volatile markets. During this halt, trading in all securities remains temporarily suspended in order to ensure a cooling off period and run a mark to market activity as a risk management measure.
