By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Pakistan stocks opened to chaos on Monday, with the KSE-100 Index plunging almost 9 percent in the first five minutes of trade before the Pakistan Stock Exchange pulled the plug on all equity trading as Middle East conflict sent oil prices rocketing and triggered outright panic.
The benchmark gauge stood at 152,991.15 points at 9:22 a.m. local time — just five minutes after the 9:17 a.m. opening — down 15,071.01 points, or 8.97%, from Friday’s close of 168,062.16. That lightning-fast drop in the KSE-30 Index triggered an automatic market-wide halt under PSX rules. “All TRE Certificate Holders are hereby informed that due to a 5% decrease in the KSE-30 index from the previous trading day’s close of the same, a Market Halt has been triggered as per PSX Regulations, and all equity-based markets have been suspended accordingly,” the exchange said in its notice. Trading is scheduled to resume at 10:27 a.m.
The bloodbath came as military strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran showed no signs of letting up, with Tehran firing back missile barrages across the region. The attacks included strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior officials. The Strait of Hormuz — the chokepoint for roughly one-fifth of global seaborne oil and LNG — was effectively shut, with marine trackers showing tankers backing up on both sides and several ships reported attacked.
Oil markets reacted violently. Brent crude spiked as much as 14% at the open before settling 4.5% higher at $76.07 a barrel after briefly trading above $82. West Texas Intermediate climbed 3.9% to $69.59. Gold jumped 1% to $5,327 an ounce as investors rushed to safety.
Analysts said the speed and scale of the selloff in Karachi reflected deep vulnerability to energy prices. “Elevated oil prices are highly detrimental to Pakistan’s external account, and persistently high commodity prices are likely to trigger a new wave of inflation,” said Waqas Ghani, head of research at JS Global.
AAH Soomro, an independent investment and economic analyst, called the session “panic mode” that “may last a few days. Keep an eye on Oil. Below 80 should settle the market by Friday.” Mohammed Sohail, CEO of Topline Securities said a leveraged position coupled with Iran and Afghanistan positions added fuel to the fire,” told Geo.tv.
Selling was across-the-board. Automobile assemblers, cement makers, commercial banks, fertiliser producers, oil and gas explorers, oil marketing companies, power generators and refiners all fell sharply. Heavyweights including Habib Bank, MCB Bank, Meezan Bank, Mari Petroleum, Oil & Gas Development, Pakistan Oilfields, Pakistan Petroleum, Hub Power and Attock Refinery traded deep in the red.
The rout extended a painful run. Last week the KSE-100 lost 5,107.53 points, or 2.9%, to close at 168,062.17 as geopolitical tensions and domestic security worries weighed on sentiment despite some late-week diplomatic breathing room.
The Ministry of Finance kicked off a fresh round of talks with an International Monetary Fund mission on the same day the market cratered. Global markets took a similar hit. MSCI’s broadest Asia-Pacific index outside Japan fell 1.2%, though Chinese blue chips held steady. In the Gulf, the UAE and Kuwait shut their bourses, citing exceptional circumstances.
President Donald Trump told the Daily Mail the conflict could drag on for four more weeks, posting that attacks would continue until US objectives were achieved. OPEC+ on Sunday agreed a modest 206,000-barrel-a-day output increase for April, but any extra barrels still have to navigate the blocked shipping lanes.
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