With Israel launching strikes against Iran’s military and nuclear sites, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday witnessed a massive 1,949.56-point drop, causing the benchmark index of the exchange, KSE-100 index, to fall below the 122,500-point support level.

 

As per the details, the fall in the KSE-100 index comes mere days after the release of the latest federal budget that had caused the index to reach an all-time high. However, the spike was short-lived as Iran-Israel tensions led to a staggering eight percent increase in the price of oil, causing capital markets across the region to take a hit, including the PSX.

 

These developments caused the index to open in the red in the early hours of the day, followed by a recovery. However, the downward momentum persisted after the recovery until closing hours. 

 

The KSE-100 index reached an intraday low of 121,604.59 points at 9:19 AM. Investors poured their money into the index, causing a recovery and allowing the index to reach an intraday high of 123,058.06 points at approximately 9:28 AM.

 

Trading remained suspended from 12 to 2:30 PM as per the PSX’s trading hour schedule.  A major sell off was recorded when trading resumed after the break, causing the index to fall to just 121,631 points at 3:34 PM. However, the market closed slightly higher at 122,143.56 points.

 

For reference, the KSE-100 closed at 124,093.12 points on Thursday, after which the index shrank by 1.57 percent during trading hours on Friday, leading to a 1,949.56-point drop.

 

Of the 17 indexes listed on the exchange, 16 remained in the red with the All-Share Index (ALLSHR) shrinking by 1.36 percent, which translates into a 1,051.08-point drop in the index. Unlike the KSE-100, which tracks the performance of the 100 largest and most liquid companies, the ALLSHR index records the performance of all publicly listed companies on the PSX.

 

A number of companies witnessed a drop in share prices with Shaheen Insurance Company Limited (SHNI) and Trust Securities & Brokerage Limited (TSBL) losing big, shrinking by 12.04 percent (SHNI) and 10.03 percent (TSBL), respectively.

However, not every publicly listed stock witnessed a decline in their position as many companies witnessed a sharp rise in share prices. Of these companies in the green, the one that fared the best during intra-day trading was Pervez Ahmed Consultancy Services Ltd. (PASL), which posted a 51.81 percent improvement in its position.

 

While current developments have caused investor confidence to plummet, recent reports have suggested that the KSE-100 index could cross 165,000 points by December 2025 owing to a drop in interest rates and an improved state of the wider economy. These factors are responsible for creating a business-friendly environment, lending weight to analysts’ claims.