KSE-100 Crashes Through 79,000 Barrier in “Overdue Correction”

Pakistan’s stock market recorded a steep decline today and lost 1,596. 51 points to close below 79,000 levels, reported Coalition. This overall decline of about 2% has been blamed to factors such as; increase in the level of political risks in the country among others.

Sensation of selling accompanied Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) throughout the trading session without any sign of retreat. As a result, the KSE-100 index acted like a ping-pong ball, unable to get back to its losing cause after touching a intra –day low and finally closed at 78,539. 19, which was way off from what people wanted to see after the correction started. This fall has been preceded by the similar one which has been observed on the growing number of investors’ evidences that the tendency has changed.

This severe decrease could have been seen as a just due correction in the KSE-100 that was on the rise for a while. The political instability prevailing in Pakistan particularly in the last one year is considered to have negative impact on investors which lead to selling in almost all sectors.

The decline was across the board; automobile assemblers, cement makers, chemical firms, banks and oil and gas explorers, marketing firms, and others all felt it. Some of the well-known Pak companies that were badly hit during the period under discussion are OGDC, PPL, PSO, SHEL, SSGC, HBL, MCB, and NBP; it is a matter of fact that the their share prices plummeted significantly.

Yet, the full picture of this development is yet to unfold and it has definitely created a quiver in the financial sphere of Pakistan. Whether this kind of correction foretells a short, blip in the economy’s trajectory or the start of a long decline remains uncertain. The investors are particularly very sensitive on the political outlook as well as the economic parameters in search for revival.