KARACHI: Rising tensions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border have shaken investor confidence, triggering a massive sell-off at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). The benchmark KSE-100 Index plunged over 4,500 points during intra-day trading on Monday, reflecting growing geopolitical uncertainty and dampened market sentiment.
By 12:35 pm, the KSE-100 had fallen to 158,569.05 points, a sharp drop of 4,529.14 points or 2.78%, as panic selling hit major sectors. Stocks in automobile, cement, commercial banking, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration, refinery, and power sectors witnessed heavy losses. Key index movers like HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, HBL, and UBL were deep in the red.
Analysts attribute the market plunge primarily to escalating border violence. Over the weekend, 23 Pakistani soldiers were martyred in a deadly clash with Afghan-based militants, including fighters from the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), according to a statement by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). More than 200 militants were reportedly killed.
Sana Tawfik of Arif Habib Limited noted that cross-border developments and global market stress contributed to the sell-off. “The pressure is mostly geopolitical. Global equities are also feeling the heat,” she said.
Waqas Ghani, Head of Research at JS Global, added, “Investor caution is high due to ongoing regional instability and profit-taking after recent rallies.”
The market had already shown weakness last week, with the index losing 3.5% to close at 163,098.19, amid falling volumes and reduced investor participation.
Globally, Asian markets also opened lower Monday amid ongoing US-China trade tensions, political shifts in Japan, and economic uncertainty. With US and Japanese markets closed for holidays, trading remained volatile.
The unfolding regional tensions and uncertainty over the Gaza ceasefire talks, currently underway in Egypt, continue to weigh heavily on global investor outlook.
