Pakistan’s stock market fell sharply on Monday morning as investors rushed to sell shares amid rising global oil prices and growing uncertainty in international markets.
Trading at the Pakistan Stock Exchange began on a negative note. Within minutes, the benchmark KSE-100 index slipped deep into the red as selling pressure spread across most sectors.
By 9:22am, the KSE-100 index had dropped to 147,715.95 points, down 9,780.15 points or 6.21 percent from the previous close.
Market halt triggered
The sharp fall triggered an automatic market halt under the exchange’s regulations. Trading was suspended after the KSE-30 index fell more than 5 percent from its previous close.
In a notice, the exchange informed market participants that all equity-based markets had been temporarily suspended following the decline.
Trading resumed at 10:22am. However, the pressure on the market did not ease.
By 10:55am, the benchmark index had fallen further to 144,386.71 points. This marked a decline of 13,109.39 points, or 8.32 percent.
Later in the session, around 1:10pm, the KSE-100 index was still down 11,119.62 points at 146,376, reflecting a drop of about 7.06 percent.
Selling seen across major sectors
Selling pressure was seen across key sectors of the market. These included automobile assemblers, cement companies, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration firms, oil marketing companies, power producers and refineries.
Several large companies that carry heavy weight in the index also traded in the red. These included MCB, Meezan Bank, National Bank, Mari Petroleum, Oil and Gas Development Company, Pakistan Petroleum, Pakistan State Oil, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines, Sui Southern Gas Company and Hub Power.
Among the most actively traded shares, K-Electric, Bank of Punjab, WorldCall Telecom and Hascol Petroleum all recorded losses during the session.
Market already under pressure
The market had already been under pressure last week. The KSE-100 index lost 10,566.08 points over the week, or 6.3 percent, and closed at 157,496.09 points. A week earlier, it had stood at 168,062.17 points.
Investors have been worried about rising geopolitical tensions, security concerns at home and uncertainty in the wider economy.
Global markets shaken by oil price surge
Stock markets across Asia also fell sharply on Monday after oil prices surged.
Brent crude jumped 23 percent to $114.36 a barrel, the biggest daily rise recorded since at least 1988. The jump followed a 28 percent increase last week.
US crude also surged, rising 27 percent to $115.11 a barrel. The sharp increase has raised fears that petrol prices could climb quickly in many countries.
Tensions in the Middle East have also unsettled markets. Iran recently named Mojtaba Khamenei as the successor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during a week of conflict involving the US and Israel.
With tankers avoiding the Strait of Hormuz and no clear sign of the conflict easing, investors are bracing for a longer period of higher energy costs.
The impact was visible across Asian markets. Japan’s Nikkei index fell 7.5 percent after losing 5.5 percent last week. South Korea’s market dropped 8.1 percent, adding to losses of more than 10 percent in the previous week.
China’s blue chip index slipped 2.3 percent. Data released on Monday also showed that consumer prices in China had risen 1.3 percent in February compared with a year earlier.
