Karachi, April 7, 2025 – The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed an intense selloff on Monday, with the market initially hitting the lower lock limit, falling more than 5%.
However, it managed to recover partially during the reopening, ending with a loss of 3.27%. The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 114,909 points, a decline of 3,882 points from Friday’s closing of 118,791 points.
The session saw one of the largest intraday declines in PSX history, with the index plummeting by more than 8,700 points at its lowest. In response to this sharp drop, PSX officially announced a halt to trading at 12:00 PM, after the market fell by around 5.3%. Following the halt, the market reopened, and the KSE-100 index recovered more than 50% of its losses during the remaining session.
The selling pressure was pervasive throughout the day, largely driven by global market turmoil. Investors were spooked by US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose reciprocal tariffs on over 180 countries, including Pakistan. The uncertainty caused by this move led to widespread selling across key sectors. Among the hardest-hit were cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies (OMCs), refineries, and power generation stocks. Index-heavy stocks, such as HUBCO, ARL, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, PSO, SNGPL, SSGC, and HBL, all ended the day in the red.
The primary catalyst for the PSX’s turmoil was the impact of US tariffs, coupled with a sharp decline in oil prices, which put additional pressure on market sentiment. According to Sana Tawfik, Head of Research at AHL, “The selling pressure comes on account of US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs and the drop in oil prices. However, this downturn is expected to be short-lived, especially with the upcoming earnings season.”
Interestingly, this selloff followed a strong week for the PSX, which had posted gains thanks to encouraging economic developments. Despite Monday’s losses, analysts remain optimistic that the PSX will recover in the near term as the result season approaches, and market sentiment stabilizes.