KEY POINTS
- Pakistan’s benchmark share index falls 5,149.80 points, or 2.87%
- Third-largest single-day point decline in the index’s history
- Trading volumes and value surge amid broad-based decline
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s main stock benchmark suffered one of its steepest single-day point declines on Monday, as heavy foreign outflows, large-scale mutual fund redemptions and mounting political uncertainty triggered a broad-based sell-off across sectors.
According to data published on the official website of the Pakistan Stock Exchange, the KSE-100 Index closed at 174,453.93 points, down 5,149.80 points or 2.87 per cent.
The drop ranks as the third-largest day-to-day decline in points in the index’s history.
The benchmark opened under pressure and quickly slipped below the 179,000 mark.
Selling intensified through the session, pushing the index beneath 176,000 and to an intra-day low of 173,574.26 before a modest late-session recovery trimmed some losses.
Market participants observed that a combination of foreign selling and institutional withdrawals. Waqas Ghani, Head of Research at JS Global, said the sharp sell-off was largely driven by “massive redemptions,” with heavy selling from a few large mutual funds acting as the primary trigger.
Saad Hanif, Head of Research at Ismail Iqbal Securities, attributed the decline mainly to foreign outflows.
Topline Securities stated that previous session data already reflected foreign selling and added that escalating political noise further dented investor confidence, accelerating bearish momentum.
Index-heavy stocks bore the brunt of the downturn. Fauji Fertiliser Company, United Bank Limited, Engro Holdings, Habib Bank Limited and Bank AL Habib Limited collectively erased around 1,680 points from the benchmark, according to brokerage estimates.
The market’s weakness extended a negative trend from the previous week, when the KSE-100 Index closed at 179,603.73 points, posting a weekly decline of 4,525.85 points or 2.5%.
Heightened political uncertainty and deteriorating security conditions, particularly in the southwestern province of Balochistan, overshadowed supportive macroeconomic indicators and strong external inflows.
In a separate development on Monday, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb reiterated the government’s commitment to accelerating the privatisation of state-owned enterprises, signalling further structural reforms aimed at stabilising public finances and attracting investment.
Despite the index slide, trading activity surged. Volume on the all-share index rose to 773.29 million shares, up from 708.97 million in the previous session. The total value of traded shares increased to Rs 46.24 billion from Rs 38.89 billion, reflecting intense liquidation.
K-Electric Ltd led volumes with 63.83 million shares traded, followed by WorldCall Telecom with 62.24 million shares and The Bank of Punjab with 56.17 million shares.
Of the 487 companies traded, 378 declined, 65 advanced, and 44 remained unchanged, underscoring the breadth of the sell-off.
In the currency market, the Pakistani rupee registered a marginal gain against the US dollar in the inter-bank market, closing at 279.61 per dollar.
Across Asia, trading was subdued due to public holidays in major financial centres, including China, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States.
Japan’s Nikkei index edged up 0.2 per cent after a strong performance last week, and a broader Asia-Pacific index outside Japan inched higher by 0.1 per cent.
Investors are now awaiting global manufacturing surveys and fourth-quarter economic growth data from the United States of America later this week, expected to show annualised expansion of around 3.0 per cent.
For global investors, Monday’s plunge highlights the fragility of sentiment in emerging frontier markets, where political developments, capital flows and institutional positioning can swiftly outweigh macroeconomic fundamentals.
