ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) plunged by 3,545.61 points on Wednesday amid heightened tensions with India after the Pahalgam incident in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
The market remained under bearish pressure throughout the day, driving the benchmark index to an intra-day low of 110,631.84.
By the close of trading, the index had settled at 111,326.57, marking a decline of 3,545.61 points or 3.09%. This follows Tuesday’s close, when the benchmark index stood at 114,872.18.
A total of 490,948,134 shares were traded during the day as compared to 409,933,985 shares on the last trading day, whereas the price of shares stood at Rs 31.124 billion against Rs 29.067 billion on the previous working day.
As many as 457 companies transacted their shares in the stock market, 60 of them recorded gains, and 352 met losses, whereas the share price of 45 companies remained unchanged.
A rise in tensions between Pakistan and India has kept the stock market under pressure since last week.
Earlier in the wee hours of Wednesday, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar warned of a likely military strike by India on Pakistan in the next 24 to 36 hours.
“Pakistan has credible intelligence that India intends to launch a military strike within the next 24 to 36 hours using the Pahalgam incident as a false pretext,” the minister said in a press conference as well as in a post on X.
Global markets lacked clear direction on Wednesday, while oil prices declined as optimism over a possible easing in global trade tensions was tempered by growing concerns about the economic outlook and negative corporate signals linked to President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
US Treasury yields hovered near multi-week lows, as traders increased expectations of further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve to bolster the world’s largest economy.
Although Trump signaled a more lenient stance on auto tariffs and there were signs of progress in broader trade talks, specifics remained unclear.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick mentioned reaching a single agreement with a foreign nation but provided few details.
