Pakistan’s stock market lost more than 2,200 points in the opening session on Friday, with analysts attributing the plunge to unexpected outcome of Thursday’s national elections.
The benchmark KSE100 index shed 2,326 points, or 3.6 percent of its value, to drop to 61,871 points as election results started pouring in on Friday morning.
Official and unofficial results showed independent candidates, many of whom were being backed by former prime minister Imran Khan’s party, to be leading the tally. With the vote count continuing, a clear picture was likely to emerge only later in the day.
Analysts said the initial results were contrary to the market’s expectations of a coalition government led by three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party.
“Based on surveys, the market was expecting a PML-N-led coalition government, but based on initial unofficial results, this looks difficult,” Muhammad Sohail, CEO of Karachi-based Topline Securities brokerage firm, told Arab News on Friday.
However, the market closed at the 62,943 level, down 1,200 points or 1.8 percent, on political uncertainty amid delays over the results of general elections.
