Trading at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) was suspended on Monday after the benchmark KSE-100 Index crashed by more than 6,200 points, triggering market-wide circuit breakers.
The index fell 5.29%, to stand at 112,504.44, with the day’s low marking the suspension point. This marked the steepest single-day decline in recent memory, wiping out billions in market capitalisation.
Major stocks bore the brunt of the sell-off, with PSO losing Rs32.26 to close at Rs379, OGDC down Rs18.77 to Rs208, and MARI dropping Rs49.69 to Rs625. Engro, PPL, HUBCO, and UBL also posted double-digit losses.
Volumes remained high, with over 197 million shares traded and total value exceeding Rs17 billion.
Among the most active scrips were WTL, Cnergyico, PAEL, and MLCF. Heavy redemptions across key sectors reflected panic among investors reacting to broader regional and global uncertainties.
The sharp fall in Pakistani equities came amid an already jittery global market environment and added concerns over local macroeconomic conditions.
Morevoer, Asian markets nosedived on Monday as the escalating tariff war between the United States and China rattled investor confidence and triggered sharp declines across the region.
Japan’s Nikkei index fell over 8% after the open, while the Topix slumped more than 6.5%. In China, the Shanghai Composite dropped 6.7%, and the blue-chip CSI300 shed 7.5%. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong opened more than 9% lower, led by steep losses in tech giants Alibaba and Tencent.
South Korea’s Kospi lost over 4.8%, briefly halting trading due to a circuit breaker. Taiwan’s Taiex tumbled 9.7%, with heavyweights TSMC and Foxconn both falling around 10% and also triggering market-wide halts.
Markets in Australia and New Zealand were also hit, with the ASX 200 falling as much as 6.3% and the NZX 50 ending down 3.7%.
The sell-off followed a fierce retaliation from China, which imposed sweeping 34% tariffs on all US goods. This move came in response to US President Donald Trump’s sudden hike in trade duties, sparking fears of a prolonged and damaging economic conflict.