The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a sharp decline of over 1,300 points on Monday amidst concerns about the formation of a new government.
During intraday trading, the benchmark KSE-100 index dropped by 1,363.44 points or -2.17%, trading at 61,580.30 points, down from the previous close of 62,943 points.
Samiullah Tariq, head of research at Pak-Kuwait Investment Company, pointed to uncertainty surrounding government formation as the primary reason for the market’s downturn.
The recent general elections, held on February 8, saw numerous independent candidates supported by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) emerge victorious, contributing to the prevailing uncertainty.
Last Friday, the PSX experienced a significant initial drop of over 2,000 points due to the unpredictable election outcome. However, the market managed to recover some losses by the day’s end, closing 1.87% lower at 62,943 points.
Market analysts, including Muhammad Sohail from Topline Securities, attributed the initial decline to the unexpected election results, deviating from pre-election forecasts. This uncertainty led to a substantial sell-off, resulting in the KSE-100 index plummeting by 3% at its lowest point.