Pakistan stocks got a hammering on Thursday with the benchmark KSE-100 index losing over 1,400 points or nearly 3.2% during the first half of the trading session as the market reacted sharply to the widening trade deficit data.

At noon, the index was hovering around the 43,900-point level -- a fall of 3.2% -- and heading for one of its worst days of the calendar year.

The sell-off comes after Pakistan posted a massive trade deficit in November, denting economic sentiment.

Stocks fell across-the-board, following inflation reading that touched a 21-month high.

This has raised interest-rate hike expectations, analysts told Business Recorder, and could put the central bank on the path of even more aggressive monetary tightening.

This is an intra-day update. This story first appeared on Business Recorder on Dec 2, 2021