By 
KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) fell into the red on Tuesday after the arrest of PTI Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan caused the benchmark KSE-100 index to fall more than 450 points during intraday trading.
The benchmark index was trading at 41,370 at roughly 2:40 pm, down 459 points or 1.13 percent.
According to market experts, equities plummeted as news broke that Imran Khan had been arrested by law enforcement personnel at the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
Across-the-board selling was seen in index-heavy sectors such as automobile, cement, chemical, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration businesses, and OMCs trading in the red.
Analysts believe that the market is already weak and that the new developments would only exacerbate the situation.
A day before, investors’ confidence was poor following news that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) might not examine Pakistan’s request for a rescue package at its impending conference.
The KSE-100 Index fell more than 450 points during the trading session on Monday.
By 3:10 pm, the index had dropped to 41,778.53, a 1.1 percent or 463.45-point drop. Several industries, including automobiles, chemicals, cement, commercial banks, and oil, saw extensive selling, contributing to the market’s overall unfavorable mood.
According to experts, the persistent delay in the resumption of the IMF project is fueling a negative mood.
Some speculate that the country’s volatile political situation is partially to blame for this loss. They acknowledge that the market is keeping a close eye on the political situation. Furthermore, the failure of talks between the government and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to agree on the same election date may have contributed to this fall.
