The ongoing political uncertainty took a toll on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), as the benchmark KSE-100 Index lost almost 1000 points in the opening hour of the trading session on Monday.

At the time of filing this report, the benchmark index was being traded at 44,152.99 points, reflecting a drop of 999.12 points, or 2.21%.

The fall comes as political turmoil deepened on Sunday when Prime Minister Imran Khan avoided an attempt to oust him and sought fresh elections after dissolving parliament, a move the opposition condemned and vowed to fight.

“Political uncertainty lead to this downfall, which was expected after Sunday’s developments,” Sana Tawfik, vice-president of research and a senior analyst at Arif Habib Limited, told Business Recorder.

The analyst was of the view that the equities will remain under pressure until clarity is achieved on the political front. “We are seeing pressure across the board,” she said, adding that the PSX will remain range-bound.

On Sunday, deputy speaker of parliament Qasim Khan Suri, a member of Khan’s party, blocked the opposition's no-confidence motion, that Khan had widely been expected to lose, ruling it was part of a foreign conspiracy and unconstitutional.

Opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif called the move “nothing short of high treason” and said there would be consequences for the “blatant and brazen violation of the Constitution.” He added he hoped the Supreme Court would uphold the Constitution.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, head of the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party, promised a sit-in at parliament.

The Supreme Court’s chief justice said on Sunday evening that the court would hear the matter on Monday and that any directions given by the president and prime minister would be subject to the court’s orders.

Talking about other markets, Tawfik said that similar to equities, pressure negativity would persist in FX and the interbank market. “Overall sentiments will remain negative across all markets,” said Tawfik.

The story was originally published in Business Recorder on April 04, 2022.