Bloodbath in Karachi: KSE-100 index plummets 8,000 points since Pahalgam terrorist attack, may bite dust if…

Pakistan Army’s artillery is firing on Indian targets across the LoC, but the bloodbath has taken place in Karachi. Pakistan’s benchmark KSE-100 index has plummeted about 8,000 points or 6.09% between April 22 and April 30. The KSE-100 fell 3.09% or 3,545 points in a single day on April 30 and closed at 111,326.57. Big blue chip companies like LUCK, ENGROH, UBL, PPL, and FFC suffered the most and dragged the index down by over 1,132 points. After the mayhem, it recovered a little bit on profit-taking on May 2. 

The KSE-100 gained 2,179.80 points, or 1.96%, and closed at 113,506.38 on Thursday, May 2. However, analysts believe it was mainly due to profit-taking and may again fall if India-Pakistan tension is not brought down significantly. Experts do not see the tension cooling down soon. 

The share prices at the Karachi Stock Exchange fell suddenly on April 22, immediately after the Pahalgam terrorist attack, in which 26 people were killed. The Resistance Front, an affiliate of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, took responsibility for the attack, though it was rescinded later. India retaliated by putting the Indus Waters Treat in abeyance, closing the Attari-Wagah border and asking the Pak nationals on short-term visas to leave the country. 

The India-Pakistan tension escalated further after Islamabad responded by suspending the 1972 Shimla Agreement, closing its airspace to Indian aircraft and increasing military presence along the Line of Control. It triggered cross-border skirmishes.