KARACHI: Shortly after Friday’s opening, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) fell by 3.68%, or 2,362 points. The general election upset sparked panic selling that sent the index tumbling to a 10-day low of 61,782 points.
Topline Securities CEO Muhammad Sohail made a brief response, saying, “PSX down…after unexpected election results.”
Despite predictions and pre-election polls that the PML-N would establish a new political administration at the Centre, partial results from Thursday’s general elections show that independent candidates endorsed by the PTI were leading on most National Assembly seats.
Speculators sold off their holdings in a panic due to the unexpected election results. Due to apparent uncertainty in the election results, they also sold off part of their properties. This was especially true in Karachi, the city of seaports and the economic hub of the country.
Even after a partial recovery from the intra-day high losses, the PSX benchmark KSE 100 Index continued to face increasing selling pressure. At 10:32 AM, the benchmark index was at 62,760 points, down 1,385 points, or 2.16%, from Thursday’s closing price of 64,142 points.
A total of 68 million shares were traded by investors at that time (10:32 AM). The selling was widespread, but it was most pronounced in energy stocks, which had risen sharply during pre-election selective buying on the assumption that the incoming administration would offer a workable economic plan to save the country from its current financial and economic mess.
After the present $3 billion loan programme ends in March 2024, experts predict that whoever forms the government will be able to acquire a new one. The next plan from the International Monetary Fund needs to help the economy grow so that the government can pay off its maturing foreign debt and provide the jobs that people need.
The new administration also faces the difficult task of lowering the national debt, reining in persistent inflation, luring both domestic and international investors, and expanding tax revenue collection to encompass more businesses in the retail, wholesale, agricultural, and real estate industries.
