PSX plunges 6.38% to 6-month low after bearish start

The Pakistan Stock Exchange once again started on a negative note on Wednesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 index losing 2,080 points, or 6.38%, by the halfway mark of the trading session to reach 30,616 points.

Earlier in the day, trading activity was halted for 45 minutes after the index registered a decline of 5%, which is the trigger for a market halt.

On Tuesday, the stocks had witnessed a similar beating as fears over the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic continued to grip investors and the market subsequently plunged over 3% on across the board selling, dealers said.

“The market opened on an indecisive note as it traded tentatively in the green initially with low volumes. However, increasing cases of coronavirus spooked skeptical investors as they rushed to offload their holdings,” brokerage Topline Securities said in a post market note.