The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 114,909.48 points on Monday, paring some of its earlier historic losses after a turbulent trading session that saw a market halt triggered by a 6,000-point plunge amid global turmoil.
The benchmark KSE-100 index had dropped by as much as 8,429 points at one point — its largest single-day fall in history — before recovering modestly. The crash followed widespread panic in global markets after China announced retaliatory tariffs against the United States, raising fears of a global recession.
Trading was suspended for an hour at 11:58am after the KSE-30 index fell over 5%, triggering automatic circuit breakers designed to cool down extreme volatility.
However, at the day’s end, the market closed just 3882 points below its previous close, making for a loss of 3.27%.
Across-the-board selling pressure was observed in key sectors including, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, refinery and power generation. Index-heavy stocks including HUBCO, ARL, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, PSO, SNGPL, SSGC, and HBL traded in the red.
The selling pressure comes on account of US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs and a decline in oil prices, Sana Tawfik, Head of Research at AHL.
“However, the selling is expected to be short-lived amid the upcoming result reason,” she said.
Analysts say while the late-session rebound offers some relief, investor sentiment remains fragile as international markets remain under pressure.
