Karachi, April 30, 2025: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a steep sell-off on Wednesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index plunging over 3,500 points amid heightened geopolitical tensions following a government warning of a possible Indian military strike.
The KSE-100 Index closed at 111,326.57 points, down by 3,545.61 points or 3.09% from the previous day’s close of 114,872.18. During the session, the market dropped to an intraday low of 110,631.84—down 4,240.34 points or 3.69%—before recovering slightly. Even the session’s high of 114,066.12 reflected a 0.70% decline.
The sharp downturn followed a late-night televised warning from Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, who claimed that India was preparing “nefarious actions” using the recent Pahalgam attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) as a pretext. “Any act of aggression will be met with a decisive response,” he stated.
“The market is reacting to the ministers’ statements that the next 24 to 36 hours could bring military escalation,” said Ahfaz Mustafa, CEO of Ismail Iqbal Securities. “Investors are pulling out of equities and seeking safer assets.”
Topline Securities CEO Mohammad Sohail added: “Investor caution is understandable amid such uncertainty.”
The geopolitical jitters overshadowed economic updates, including data from the State Bank of Pakistan showing it purchased $5.677 billion from the interbank market between June 2024 and January 2025 to strengthen reserves. In January alone, it bought $154 million, down from $536 million in December, thanks to a favorable current account balance.
In corporate earnings, Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) reported a 25% year-on-year decline in net profit for the nine months ending March 2025, with earnings of Rs72.7 billion. The company also reported a 21% YoY drop in quarterly profit to Rs21.8 billion, alongside a 15% YoY decrease in net sales. It announced a Rs1 per share dividend for the third quarter, bringing total payouts to Rs5 per share for 9MFY25.
The dramatic downturn followed Tuesday’s rally, when the KSE-100 had gained 808.28 points or 0.71% to close at 114,872.18.
