Pakistan Stock Exchange Turns Negative After Two Days of Gains, Sharp Drop Recorded

PAKISTAN: After two consecutive days of gains, the Pakistan Stock Exchange once again turned negative today, and the market opened with a sharp decline.

According to market analysts, the sudden drop in performance was mainly caused by profit taking; however, also influencing the market were the investors’ sense of uncertainty and concerns about future economic conditions. Volatility will continue in the near term, absent some good economic data accompanied by strong policy initiatives to rebuild investor confidence.

As soon as trading began, the stock market had dropped by 1,400 points; during the course of the day, the market continued to fall further, with the index down as much as 2,500 points during the trading day.

Due to continued selling pressure, the Pakistan Stock Exchange fell below the 172,000 point level; as a result, many of the investors were carrying very heavy losses.

At the end of the first trading day, the benchmark index closed at 171,728 points with a decline of 1,166 points.