KSE-100 tanks nearly 3,000 points as Pak-Afghan clashes

KARACHI – Investor panic gripped Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday as deadly cross-border clashes with Afghanistan dented confidence, pushing KSE-100 Index down nearly 3,000 points in opening session.

During inital trading, benchmark index stayed around 160,126, down 1.82pc, with heavy selling across banking, oil and gas, cement, power, and automobile sectors.

Those familiar with trend pointed fingers at Pak-Afghan tensions which are driving this sell-off while global markets are also under pressure.

The turmoil comes after 23 Pakistani soldiers were martyred and over 200 militants killed in overnight clashes along the Pak-Afghan border. The ISPR said the fighting erupted following an unprovoked attack by Afghan Taliban and allied militants, including the banned TTP. Pakistani forces responded with precision strikes, destroying multiple terrorist camps and posts.

PSX decline comes amid global market volatility, including renewed US-China trade tensions and political uncertainty in Japan and Europe. Wall Street futures showed some recovery, but caution dominated Asian markets.

Read more: PSX Soars to Record Highs Amid IMF Talks, Foreign Optimism

Asian markets struggled on Monday: South Korea fell 2.1%, Australia lost 0.5%, and MSCI’s Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index dropped 0.6%. Japan’s Nikkei futures were still far below last week’s close due to political uncertainty.