The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) experienced heavy selling on Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index plunging over 2,100 points in the first few minutes of trading amid growing investor anxiety over potential government policies and weak global cues.
By 10:05 a.m., the KSE-100 Index stood at 178,391.58, down 2,121.06 points, or 1.18%, as traders engaged in widespread selling across major sectors.
Leading sectors, including cement, commercial banking, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies, and power generation, faced strong downward pressure. Prominent index-heavy stocks such as OGDC, Mari Petroleum, Pakistan Oilfields Limited, Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Hub Power Company, Attock Refinery Limited, MCB Bank, Meezan Bank, and United Bank Limited traded in negative territory, dragging the market lower.
Market sources indicated that investor sentiment was further shaken by reports suggesting that the government is considering imposing a cess on fertiliser producers to recover windfall profits. The proposed revenue is expected to be allocated for farmers’ support. Although no official announcement has been made, the possibility of the levy unsettled market participants, particularly in the fertiliser sector.
Thursday had already seen a sharp decline at the bourse, with the KSE-100 Index falling 2,537.16 points, or 1.39%, to close at 180,512.65. Analysts attributed the previous drop to uncertainty surrounding large-scale mining investments and broad-based sectoral weakness, which compounded investor caution.
Global markets also contributed to the risk-averse sentiment. Asian equities retreated from record highs on Friday, driven by concerns over shrinking profit margins in the technology sector. Investors turned toward safer assets ahead of upcoming US inflation data, which could influence Federal Reserve policy.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite fell 2% after Cisco Systems reported quarterly results below expectations due to rising memory chip costs. The company’s shares plummeted 12%, erasing nearly $40 billion in market value. Apple recorded a 5% decline, marking its steepest single-day drop since April last year, while transportation stocks faced pressure amid worries about artificial intelligence-driven disruptions.
