The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) faced sharp losses on Monday as escalating tensions between Pakistan and India rattled investor confidence, driving the benchmark KSE-100 Index down nearly 900 points during early trading hours. By 9:40am, the index had slipped to 113,223.46, a drop of 890.47 points or 0.78 percent.
The market downturn extended last week’s bearish trend, spurred further by media reports of possible Indian airstrikes following a key meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari. This comes on the heels of a militant attack in Pahalgam, located in India-administered Jammu and Kashmir.
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Major sectors bore the brunt of the sell-off, with stocks like Hub Power Company, Pakistan State Oil, Mari Petroleum, and United Bank Ltd trading in the red. Analysts attributed the slump to a combination of geopolitical anxiety and uncertainty surrounding the State Bank’s policy rate decision expected later in the day.
In contrast, Indian stock markets remained upbeat. The Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex both posted gains on Monday morning, buoyed by foreign inflows, easing trade worries, and softer oil prices — highlighting divergent investor sentiment on either side of the border.
