Karachi Stock Exchange plunges by 308 points while BSE Sensex rises by 254 points after trade suspen
Pakistani Stocks plumbed more than one percent on Friday, closing negatively for the fifth consecutive session, as suspension of trade with India forced investors to sell their holdings, clipping the overall share values, dealers said. Analyst Ahsan Mehanti from Arif Habib Corporations said, “Stocks closed bearish as investors weighed uncertainty over outcome of India’s move over revoking Kashmir’s special status and concerns over political uncertainty." Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 shares index lost 1.04 percent or 308.91 points to close at 29,429.07 points level. KSE-30 shares index followed suit with a low of 1.43 percent or 200.74 points to end at 13,793.17 points level. High tension between Pakistan and India over Kashmir issue, fall in the foreign exchange reserves, and slide in the crude oil price have deterred fresh investment into Pakistan. Pakistan’s equity market is now the worst performing market as it has lost more than 20 percent since January 1, 2019, while other markets in the global arena are Beirut, Zambia and Nigeria. Investors have lost confidence in the local bourses mainly because of higher interest rate, an analyst said. One the other hand, political will power shown by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah on article 370 abolition in Jammu and Kashmir, the stock market investors are expecting the same political will on the economic front and it got reflected at Dalal Street when the Indian indices soar despite weak global cues. The BSE Sensex rose 254 points and closed at 36,976 levels while the 50-stock Nifty added 77 points and closed at 10,948 levels.
