KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange faces the worst shock of the last 10 years.
Following the global trends, Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) began the firsttrading week on a bearish note, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index recordingits biggest daily fall since 2009.
Dropping below the 34,000 mark, the KSE-100 Index lost 2,441.98 points or-6.77pc to touch its intraday low at 33,618.90.
The sudden plunge at the start of the session caused yet another 45-minute‘market halt’ (4th in the last six sessions). As trading resumed, the indexfailed to find any positive triggers and settled lower by 2,375.97 pointsat 33,684.91.
Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index lost 3,890.87 points to end at52,017.17, while the KSE All Share Index dropped 1,424.74 points, closingat 23,867.22. Of the total traded shares, 18 advanced and 289 declined.
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According to analysts, investors resorted to panic selling on Mondayfollowing the increase in the number of coronavirus cases in the country.
Global markets also took a hit as the US Federal Reserve and other centralbanks unveiled emergency measures to support their coronavirus infectedeconomy.
Saad Rafi, head of sales at Al Habib Capital, commented, “The PSX today wasprimarily influenced by the prevalent bearish spell in regional markets,drop in US Crude prices and its negative impact on E&P stocks and risingconcerns about the negative repercussions of coronavirus on Pakistan’seconomy.”
