KARACHI: Bears in Pakistan’s equity market strengthened their grip on Tuesday as the country’s key stock index posted its highest-ever single-day decline of 2,534 points amid continued correction after the market hit record highs in recent weeks.
The benchmark KSE100 index crashed 4.1% to close at 59,171 points during the latest session at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). With the recent decline, KSE100 has dropped 11% or 7,256 points from the peak of 66,427 points on December 12, according to the market data.
Financial analysts termed the bearish spell at the bourse as the corrective phase in the overheated market, though they acknowledged it was also under pressure due to delay in interest rate cuts, political activities gathering pace ahead of the general elections and selling by foreign investors.
“The market is already in the corrective mode for the last seven consecutive sessions which continued today while the participation of foreign investors remains minimal due to new year festivities,” Tahir Abbas, head of research at Arif Habib Limited, told Arab News.
“The rollover week is also pushing the market down,” he said, adding the political climate had heated up over the weekend which was also contributing to the index fall.
Analysts said the investors were concerned about the outcome of the national polls scheduled for February 8.
“Investors are expected to remain cautious due to the ongoing political activities,” Abbas maintained.
PSX hit an all-time high of 66,427 at the outset of the month amid rumors of an interest rate cut. However, the central bank in its monetary policy continued with the 22 percent rate due to persistently high inflation.
“Market was expecting the interest rate cut in December which has now been delayed,” Yousuf Muhammad Farooq, director research at Chase Securities, said, adding: “This is also one of the reasons for the bearish mood.”
“The market was seen going up at a rapid pace and it is now correcting itself in a similar manner,” he continued.
Farooq maintained the future market direction would be set by the outcome of the upcoming polls and the implementation of the International Monetary Fund’s conditions.
Khurram Schehzad, CEO of Alpha Beta Core, a financial advisory firm, termed today’s trading session as “Black Tuesday for the Pakistan Stock Exchange,” adding the “leverage buying and its settlement” were also among the factors that contributed to the fall of the market.
Pakistan’s equity market posts highest-ever decline of over 2,500 points on ‘black Tuesday’
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Pakistan’s equity market posts highest-ever decline of over 2,500 points on ‘black Tuesday’
- KSE100 has dropped by 11% or 7,256 points in the seven consecutive bearish sessions from the peak of 66,427 points
- The market is in corrective mode, reacting to delays in interest rate cuts and political developments ahead of elections
12 killed, 27 injured in suicide blast outside district court in Pakistani capital
- Attack comes amid surge in violence against Pakistan by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan group
- Islamabad says attackers operate from Afghanistan with India backing, Kabul and New Delhi deny
ISLAMABAD: At least twelve people were killed and 27 others injured in a suicide blast outside a court in Islamabad on Tuesday, the interior minister said.
The explosion took place near the entrance of a district court in Islamabad’s G-11 sector while it was crowded with a large number of litigants.
“As of now, 12 people have been martyred and 27 have been injured,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters.
“We are already treating the injured, our teams are in the hospitals already. We are providing them the best possible facilities.”
A security official who declined to be named said “Indian-sponsored and Afghan Taliban–backed proxy group “Fitna-ul-Khawarij” carried out the suicide bombing, referring to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group that Islamabad says operates from safe havens in Afghanistan, with backing from India. Both nations deny this.
The latest attack comes a day after militants including a suicide bomber tried to storm a cadet college in Wana, a city in the northwestern South Waziristan district, triggering a gunbattle that killed at least two of the attackers.
On Monday, Pakistani security forces said they had killed 20 Pakistani Taliban insurgents in raids on hideouts in the northwest region bordering Afghanistan as tensions between the two countries escalated. The army said eight militants were killed Sunday in North Waziristan, a former TTP stronghold in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and 12 others were killed in a separate raid in the Dara Adam Khel district, also in the northwest.
Meanwhile, Pakistan and Afghanistan have blamed each other for the collapse of a third round of peace talks in Istanbul over the weekend.
The negotiations, facilitated by Qatar and Turkiye, began last month following deadly border clashes that killed dozens of soldiers and civilians on both sides.
TP is separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban and has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Many TTP leaders and fighters are believed to have taken refuge in Afghanistan since then.
The Islamabad attack also takes place a day after a deadly car blast in India’s capital New Delhi killed at least eight and injured 20 people. An Indian officer said on Tuesday that police are probing the blast under a law used to fight “terrorism.”
Arch-rivals India and Pakistan frequently trade blame for supporting militant groups against each other. A militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in April that killed 22 people, mostly tourists, sparked a four-day confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbors in May that saw them exchange artillery, drone and air strikes before a ceasefire was brokered by the US.
