KARACHI , May 9, 2023: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) landed in negative zone as the arrest of PTI Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan pushed the benchmark KSE-100 index to drop over 450 points during intra-day trading on Tuesday.
At around 3:30pm, the benchmark index was being traded at 41,370, a decrease of 459 points or 1.13 per cent.
According to market experts, the stocks plunged after investors came to know that Imran Khan had been taken into custody by law enforcement agencies officials at the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
Across-the-board selling was witnessed among the index-heavy sectors including, automobile, cement, chemical, commercial banks, oil & gas exploration companies and OMCs trading in the negative zone.
According to analysts, the market is already depressed, and the current development would only worsen the situation.
A day earlier the investors’ morale remained low after reports that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) might not consider Pakistan’s case for bailout package during its upcoming meeting.
On Monday, the KSE-100 Index also dropped by more than 450 points during the trading session.
By 3:10pm, the index had fallen to 41,778.53, representing a decline of 1.1pc or 463.45 points. Multiple sectors, such as automobile, chemical, cement, commercial banks, and oil, saw widespread selling, contributing to the overall negative sentiment in the market.
Persistent delay in the resumption of IMF programme driving negative sentiment, say experts.
Some circles also point toward the country’s unstable political environment as a possible cause of this setback. They acknowledge that the market is closely monitoring the situation on the political front. Additionally, the failed talks between the government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on agreeing to the same election date may have played a role in this decline.