Massive sell-off wipes out 2,500 points from PSX

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) suffered a bloodbath on Tuesday, bleeding more than 2,500 points, or a fall of over 4% due to a massive sell-off by the major players in the market.

According to the PSX website, the benchmark KSE-100 index settled at 59,170.97 points at the end of the trading, down by 2534.12 points or 4.11% from the previous close of 61,705.09 points on December 22.

The bourse started the day on a negative note and at 9:50 am it shed over 1009.92 points and dipped to 60,695.17 points. The market continued its gradual slide with the KSE-100 eventually losing 1500 points by noon, sinking to 60120 points. 

The situation worsened after 2:00 pm, when the market plunged steeply by 2,000 points and at 3:26 the benchmark index nosedived to its lowest level of 59026.81, a decline of 2,678.28 points. This was the biggest single-day fall in KSE-100 history.

Almost all the major sectors of the market traded in the red as the investors offloaded their holdings. The automobile assemblers, cement, chemical, commercial banks, oil and gas marketing companies, oil and gas exploration companies, refineries, and pharmaceutical sectors were among the worst performers. 

The exchange traded funds, fertilizer, food and personal care products, insurance, investment banks and securities companies also faced selling pressure.

The market experts attributed the selling pressure to a correction phase after the PSX had shown remarkable growth in the past few weeks, reaching record high levels of over 67,000 points. However, the benchmark index has shed 11% in just nine sessions.

Experts said that the correction was healthy and temporary, and the market would bounce back soon on the back of strong fundamentals and positive outlook.