*ISLAMABAD – **Pakistan Stock Market crashed following the lead from theinternational and Asian Markets.*
*The global oil crisis and price cut that caused stock markets across theglobe to fall reflected in the Pakistani market as well. It left all thescrips in red after seven minutes of “panic” with a 5.8% fall preceding ahalt in trading.*
The benchmark KSE100 index lost an overall 2,283 points until 10am in themorning, recording a 5.83% loss which was followed by a 45-minute halt intrading. The halt helped the market recover as the cement sector led theway to recuperation.
The market fall was mainly triggered after the Organisation of thePetroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) failed to reach an agreement about oilproduction to maintain prices. It trickled down to international markets asthe prices of Brent Crude fell 30%.
In Pakistan, the cascading effect was coupled with a tumble by the bankingsector due to prospects of an interest rate cut, which caused a steep fallin the overall market. Financial and securities analysts suggest that therates are likely to be brought down by 50 basis point—the largest cut inhistory.
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However, the market was on the path to recovery after trading resumed,showing that the panic fizzled out, analysts say.
The oil and banking sector still remained in the red at the time thisreport was published but the market regained over 1,000 points and tradedabove the 36,900 level.
