Karachi, October 13, 2025 – The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a stormy trading session on Monday as the KSE-100 index nosedived by almost 3% during intraday trading, sending shockwaves across the financial markets.
The meltdown came amid escalating border tensions and growing geopolitical uncertainty, triggering widespread panic among investors.
At 12:34 PM, the KSE-100 index was down by a staggering 4,876 points or 2.99%, marking one of the sharpest single-day declines in recent months. Massive sell-offs swept through major sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration, OMCs, refinery, and power generation. Index-heavy giants such as HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, HBL, and UBL were deep in the red, dragging the index further down.
Market analysts linked the steep decline to rising border tensions following deadly clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier. According to ISPR, 23 Pakistani soldiers embraced martyrdom while over 200 militants were neutralised after an unprovoked cross-border attack from Afghan territory involving Taliban fighters and banned TTP elements.
Experts said the index has come under immense pressure as jittery investors resorted to profit-taking and capital preservation. Weak global market cues have also amplified the selling spree.
Last week, the PSX had already shown weakness, with the KSE-100 index slipping 3.5 percent to close at 163,098.19 points. Analysts warn that persistent geopolitical instability could further deepen bearish momentum and dampen investor sentiment in the days ahead.