By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Pakistan’s stock market cratered on Monday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index tumbling more than 6,000 points in early trading as President Donald Trump’s tariff decision stoked recession fears and oil prices sank.
By midday, the benchmark slumped 5.26% to 112,542.56, triggering a one-hour trading halt.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) paused markets after the KSE-30 Index shed 5 percent, per exchange regulations, wiping out all pending orders.
“All TRE Certificate Holders are hereby informed that due to a 5% decrease in the KSE-30 index from the previous trading day close of the index, a Market Halt has been triggered as per PSX Regulations and all equity and equity-based markets have been suspended accordingly,” the bourse said in a statement.
“As a result of the halt, all outstanding orders have been cancelled automatically.”
Losses ripped across sectors—cement, banks, energy, and utilities all took hits. Index giants like Hub Power (HUBCO), Attock Refinery (ARL), Mari Petroleum (MARI), Oil & Gas Development (OGDC), Pakistan Petroleum (PPL), Pakistan Oilfields (POL), Pakistan State Oil (PSO), Sui Northern Gas (SNGPL), Sui Southern Gas (SSGC), and Habib Bank (HBL) ended deep in the red.
“The selloff ties straight to Trump’s tariff rhetoric and oil’s drop,” said Sana Tawfik, research head at Arif Habib Limited. “Still, earnings season could stem the bleed soon.”
Last week’s 1,000-point gain—fueled by upbeat economic signals—vanished in the rout.
Global markets echoed the panic. Trump doubled down on tariffs, paired with China’s 34 percent retaliatory levies on US goods starting April 10, crushed sentiment. Beijing also curbed exports of rare earths like gadolinium and yttrium, key for medical and tech industries.
Trump’s tariff gambit—unveiled last week—promised deals with trading partners. Instead, his weekend refusal to back off unless deficits shrink dashed hopes of a rethink, leaving markets reeling.
Oil piled on the pain, with Brent falling to $64.23 a barrel and U.S. crude to $60.60.
Analysts offered mixed takes seeing robust earnings as a potential lifeline, though global jitters could keep a lid on gains.
“Tariffs could spark a global recession via weaker demand,” said Awais Ashraf of AKD Securities. Yet he added, “As an import-driven economy, Pakistan might see a silver lining from lower commodity prices.”
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