Political unrest caused significant selling pressure on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), which saw the benchmark KSE-100 Index lose more than 1,400 points on Tuesday during trading.
The KSE-100 Index was down 1,432.25 points, or 3.5 per cent, at 39,538.57 around 3 o’clock, below the 40,000-mark, according to the PSX website.
Investors were under pressure to sell their shares across the board due to Pakistan’s escalating political unpredictability and economic uncertainties.
For a while now, there has been pressure on the market. Just last week, the benchmark KSE-100 Index dropped nearly 550 points due to domestic and global events, and the PSX experienced intense selling pressure. On Friday, it increased to close higher, but this week started off negatively once more.
Experts claim that market pressure is resulting from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-(PTI) Insaf’s announcement that it will dissolve the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies, according to Brecorder.
In particular, the pressure has intensified since Monday’s event.
A worsening economic crisis is accompanied by louder political clamour as foreign exchange reserves drop to dangerously low levels and negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) keep getting postponed.
Analysts have also stated that although the World Bank’s approval of $1.692 billion for flood relief efforts in Sindh should have had a positive effect, political commotion is also obscuring this good news.
Pakistan’s stock market is expected to remain under pressure till Friday until clarity is achieved on the political front.
