KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a bloodbath session on Thursday as benchmark KSE-100 index nosedived by more than 4.7 percent and the country’s national currency hit a new all-time low against the backdrop of soaring trade deficit, inflation, interest and rates of treasury bills, said traders and analysts.
The bourse resumed its trading session in the morning on a negative note, making an intra-day low of 2,282 points as investors remained concerned about the increasing trade deficit and higher-than-expected secondary market yields.
The benchmark KSE-100 index shed 2,134.99 points and closed at 43,234, according to the PSX data.
“The Pakistan market went down by more than 2,000 points, or over four percent, due to the shocking November, 2021, import bill and abnormal increase in the T-bill yield in yesterday’s auction,” Muhammad Sohail, chief executive officer of Topline Securities, commented.
The Pakistani rupee also hit another all-time low on Thursday and closed at Rs176.42 against the US dollar by shedding its value by 0.53 percent.
“The rupee has further lost its value due to the widening trade deficit amid swelling import bill,” Abdul Azeem, head of research at Spectrum Securities, told Arab News.
The equity market posted one of the largest declines in the current year, according to analysts.
“On March 16, 2020, the index recorded its steepest drop of 2,376 points,” Khurram Schehzad, chief executive officer of Alpha Beta Core, recalled. “The decline of 2,134 points during a single session today made the investors lose about $1.9 billion.”
According to Arif Habib Limited, a Karachi-based brokerage house, investors were worried due to the highest ever monthly trade deficit of $5.1 billion recorded in November, as exports stood at $2.9 billion against an import bill of $8 billion.
The expectation of higher interest rate in the upcoming monetary policy also impacted the market sentiment, as the three-months cut-off yield of treasury bills increased by 229 basis points to 10.79 percent.
Similarly, the yield of six and 12 months reached 11.50 and 11.51 percent.
“Stocks closed at a record low due to the concern over a sharp increase in T-bills along with the Pakistan Investment Bond,” said Ahsan Mehanti, chief executive of Arif Habib Corporation.
Analysts said the expectation of higher inflation numbers in the upcoming months due to the low base effect and further devaluation of the rupee also triggered selling pressure at the bourse.
The sectors contributing to the performance of the stock market lost their value significantly. Due to massive selling trend, the volumes increased from 241.7 million shares to 386.8 million shares. The traded value also increased by 52.4 percent to $79.7 million as against $52.3 million.
Equity market analysts said the stock exchange was likely to remain volatile in the coming days.
Bloodbath at Pakistan stock market as benchmark index sheds over 2,100 points
https://arab.news/gewzg
Bloodbath at Pakistan stock market as benchmark index sheds over 2,100 points
- The country’s national currency hits another all-time low at Rs176.42 against the US dollar amid widening trade deficit
- Experts blame the stock market volatility on the shocking import bill in November along with an abnormal increase in the yield of treasury bills
Death toll in Pakistan shopping plaza fire rises to 67, officials say
- Rescue teams still searching for damaged Gul Plaza in Karachi where blaze erupted on Saturday, says police surgeon
- Karachi has a long history of deadly fires, often linked to poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement
KARACHI: The death toll from a devastating fire at a shopping plaza in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi jumped to 67 on Thursday after police and a hospital official confirmed that the remains of dozens more people had been found.
Police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed said rescue teams were still searching the severely damaged Gul Plaza in the Karachi, where the blaze erupted on Saturday.
Most remains were discovered in fragments, making identification extremely difficult, but the deaths of 67 people have been confirmed, she said. Asad Raza, a senior police official in Karachi, also confirmed the death toll. Authorities previously had confirmed 34 deaths.
Family members of the missing have stayed near the destroyed plaza and hospital, even after providing their DNA for testing. Some have tried to enter the building forcibly, criticizing the rescue efforts as too slow.
“They are not conducting the search properly,” said Khair-un-Nisa, pointing toward the rescuers. She stood outside the building in tears, explaining that a relative who had left to go shopping has been missing since the blaze.
Another woman, Saadia Saeed, said her brother has been trapped inside the building since Saturday night, and she does not know what has happened to him.
“I am ready to go inside the plaza to look for him, but police are not allowing me,” she said.
There was no immediate comment from authorities about accusations they have been too slow.
Many relatives of the missing claim more lives could have been saved if the government had acted more swiftly. Authorities have deployed police around the plaza to prevent relatives from entering the unstable structure, while rescuers continue their careful search.
Investigators say the blaze erupted at a time when most shop owners were either closing for the day or had already left. Since then, the Sindh provincial government has said around 70 people were missing after the flames spread rapidly, fueled by goods such as cosmetics, clothing, and plastic items.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, though police have indicated that a short circuit may have triggered the blaze.
Karachi has a long history of deadly fires, often linked to poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement, and illegal construction.
In November 2023, a shopping mall fire killed 10 people and injured 22. One of Pakistan’s deadliest industrial disasters occurred in 2012, when a garment factory fire killed at least 260 people.
