The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) experienced a severe downturn on Wednesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index falling over 4,000 points due to escalating geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan. The index hit an intraday low of 110,631.84 — a dramatic drop of 4,240.34 points or 3.69% from Tuesday’s close of 114,872.18.
Even at its highest point during the session, 114,066.12, the market remained in the red, highlighting consistent selling pressure. The sharp decline came after the Pakistani government issued a stark warning late Tuesday night, stating it had credible intelligence of a possible Indian military strike within the next 24 to 36 hours.
“This fear-driven environment is prompting investors to pull out of equities and move toward safer assets,” explained Ahfaz Mustafa, CEO of Ismail Iqbal Securities. Mohammad Sohail of Topline Securities added that market participants were acting cautiously in response to the heightened uncertainty.
The alarm was sounded by Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, who claimed that India intended to use the recent Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) as a false justification for military action. He assured that any aggression would be met with a firm response from Pakistan.
On the economic front, the State Bank of Pakistan disclosed that it had purchased $5.677 billion from the interbank market between June 2024 and January 2025 to strengthen its foreign reserves. In January alone, it bought $154 million — significantly less than December’s $536 million, supported by a positive current account balance.
In corporate updates, Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) reported a 25% decline in net profit year-on-year for the nine months ending March 2025, with earnings of Rs72.7 billion. The third quarter alone saw a 21% drop in profit and a 15% fall in net sales compared to the previous year. PPL announced a Rs1 per share dividend for Q3, raising the total payout to Rs5 per share for the fiscal period.
This sharp market reversal followed Tuesday’s strong performance when the KSE-100 Index had gained 808.28 points (0.71%), closing at 114,872.18, up from 114,063.90.
