PSX tumbles as border tensions turn investors jittery

KARACHI: Rising tensions between nuclear-armed neighbours kept investors nervous, leading them to reduce their positions amid fears of full-scale war. This fuelled uncertainty about the economy and pushed the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) further into the red zone in the outgoing week. On Wednesday, the PSX witnessed a bloodbath caused by the information minister’s statement regarding an imminent attack by Indian forces within the next 24 to 36 hours. This news had scared investors who began offloading their holdings, wiping out a staggering Rs427bn from the market capitalisation as the benchmark KSE index suffered the third largest single-day loss of 3,546 points. However, the last session of the week staged a strong rally as investors turned to value-hunting, helping the index to partially recover the losses it suffered on the eve of Labour Day.