Pakistan halts stock trading as key index crashes 7,000 points
What's the story
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) suspended trading after the benchmark KSE-100 Index plummeted by over 7% on Thursday. Earlier in the day, the index had appeared to recover from one of its biggest single-day losses ever, fueled by hopes of a reduction in geopolitical tensions. The benchmark KSE-100 Index surged by almost 1,800 points in early trading but quickly reversed course, shedding those gains to slip into negative territory.
Market turmoil
KSE-100 index sees significant drop
At 1:31pm local time, the KSE-100 Index stood at 103,060, a drop of 6,948 points or 6.32%. The drop comes after Wednesday's (May 7) market crash when the KSE-100 crashed over 6,500 points and lost nearly 6% of its value. The incident was one of the worst single-day falls in the bourse's history and sent shockwaves across financial markets.
Geopolitical impact
Market panic triggered by military operation
The recent sell-off was sparked by India's precision military strike, "Operation Sindoor," which targeted nine sites linked to terrorism, with four in Pakistan and five in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The operation was launched in retaliation to a deadly terror attack in Pahalgam in April. The news of this military action has greatly affected the PSX, causing the ongoing selling pressure.