Islamabad: Pakistan’s stock market experienced its second-largest single-day drop on Monday, with the KSE-100 Index falling 11,015 points, or 6.99 percent, closing at 146,480.14 points, as escalating conflict in the Middle East and rising global oil prices rattled investor sentiment.
Trading at the Pakistan Stock Exchange was temporarily halted after the KSE-30 Index fell more than 5 percent from the previous day’s close. Analysts said the decline was driven by fears of inflation and economic uncertainty following the spike in petroleum prices.
The recent surge in global oil prices comes after coordinated strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran on February 28, which caused brent crude to hit $119 per barrel during early trading. Pakistan raised petrol and diesel prices by Rs55 per liter on Friday, further fueling investor concerns.
“This record sell-off reflects the impact of the escalating Iran conflict and rising energy prices on market sentiment,” said Ahsan Mehanti, CEO of Arif Habib Commodities. He added that uncertainty over the State Bank of Pakistan’s monetary policy announcement and weak earnings forecasts contributed to the bearish trend.
Top brokerage house Topline Securities said investor sentiment remained fragile amid global crude prices exceeding $110 per barrel, noting that total market participation remained active with 621 million shares traded and a turnover of Rs37 billion ($132 million).
Pakistan’s economy, heavily reliant on imported petroleum, faces mounting pressure as oil imports accounted for $16 billion of the country’s $58.4 billion import bill last year. Analysts warn that sustained high energy prices and continued geopolitical tensions could further strain economic stability.
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