By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Pakistan stocks cratered to an intraday low of 8,687 points on Monday—its biggest point drop ever—before closing 3.3 percent lower, reeling from a global sell-off sparked by China’s retaliatory tariffs on the U.S.
The benchmark KSE-100 index slumped 5.3 percent, or 6,287 points, at its nadir, the steepest intraday fall in absolute terms, triggering a one-hour trading halt at 11:58 a.m. local time under PSX rules, only to shed another 2,000 points after resuming. The index fell 7.3 percent in the intraday trade. Late buying trimmed losses, with the KSE-100 ending at 114,909 points, down 3.3 percent, or 3,882 points, from Friday’s close.
“A brutal day,” Topline Securities said in its market note. “The market mirrored the global rout, opening sharply lower and facing unrelenting selling pressure.” While the 8,687-point dive set a point-loss record, the steepest percentage drop remains June 1, 1998’s 12.4 percent crash.
Topline Securities CEO Mohammed Sohail told clients the global slump would hit hardest in oil and gas exploration, technology, and textiles—sectors “as these are either linked to the global commodity prices (like crude oil) or linked with global aggregate demand.”
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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