Karachi: The Pakistan Stock Exchange witnessed a sharp downturn as trading resumed, with the benchmark index recording a massive drop of 12,343 points.
During the trading session, the KSE-100 index fell to 145,152 points, triggering concern among investors and market analysts.
Meanwhile, global crude oil prices have surged significantly in the international market, crossing the $100 per barrel mark.
Brent crude rose by 24.52 percent to reach $115.42 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased by 25.35 percent to $113.94 per barrel.
Experts warn that the rise in global oil prices could put additional pressure on Pakistan’s economy and may lead to another increase in petroleum prices in the country.
It is worth noting that the government has already increased petrol and diesel prices sharply over the past three days, raising fears of further inflation in the coming weeks.
Investors remained concerned due to fears of a possible increase in the interest rate in today’s meeting of the State Bank of Pakistan’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which kept the market under further pressure.
Due to the sharp decline, a market halt was also triggered, temporarily suspending trading for a short period.
