PSX sheds record 11,000 points as oil price jump spreads panic

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a sharp sell-off, second-largest decline on a daily basis, ending the session on a strongly bearish note on Monday as intense selling pressure gripped the market.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index plunged by 11,015.95 points, closing at 146,480.15.

Trading activity was disrupted early in the session when the market was temporarily halted around 9:20 am after the index dropped by 9,780 points, triggering an automatic market suspension mechanism.

The steep decline comes amid escalating geopolitical tensions and a surge in global oil prices, factors that have significantly dampened investor sentiment and fueled widespread risk-off behavior across the market, said an analyst from Darson Securities.

Trading activity on the KSE-All Share experienced an uptick from the previous session, with the ready market volume reaching 614 million shares, higher than the 360 million shares recorded in the preceding session. Whilst KEL contributed most of the volume, closely followed by BOP.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index witnessed an extremely bearish session, with intense selling pressure dragging the market sharply lower throughout the day, said an analyst from Pearl Securities.

Investor sentiment remained weak amid persistent uncertainty, triggering panic-driven liquidation across the board.

The index remained under heavy pressure for most of the session. Activity was mainly concentrated in power, banks, technology, investment banks, and Refinery sectors as investors actively adjusted their positions.

Consequently, the benchmark KSE-100 reached an intraday low of 144,119, a decline of 13,377 points. It recovered after the G7 announced the release of oil reserves after the price of Brent and WTI topped at $117.48 and $112.77, respectively.

Following the decision, the prices cooled down a bit, which helped the domestic market to recover. However scenario looked bleak as the war continued in the Middle East.