Stock Market Plunge: Investors Lose PKR 1.91 Trillion Amid Economic Uncertainty

Karachi: Following predictions by global rating agencies about upcoming government changes, Pakistan’s political landscape saw a downturn due to negative speculations, resulting in a significant market decline on Friday. The stock indices plummeted, with the KSE-100 dropping below the psychological 81,000 points mark.
The bearish trend led to a 68.38% decrease in share prices, causing investors to suffer losses amounting to PKR 1.91 trillion, 70 crore, 48 lakh, 82 thousand, 607 rupees. While trading began with a rapid 100-point surge, uncertainties over next week’s rollover and profit-taking overshadowed fresh investments, focusing instead on offloading shares and securing dividends.
Earlier, a major downturn of 2027 points had pushed the KSE-100 to a critical 80,000 points level, but a slight easing in market intensity towards the closing moments saw the KSE-100 index finish at 80,117.89 points, down by 1721.97 points. Similarly, the KSE-30 index dropped by 584.08 points to 25,681.10 points, the KSE All Share index fell by 918.86 points to 50,854.42 points, and the MI 30 index declined by 2675.72 points to 127,705.30 points.
Despite a 1.84% increase in trading volume on Thursday, limited activity was confined to 446 companies. Of these, 91 stocks saw gains, 305 experienced losses, and 50 remained stable in prices, reflecting cautious market sentiments amidst ongoing economic uncertainties.