Pahalgam terror attack costs Pakistan's KSE100 16,700 pts! Index down 14% since April 22

Pakistan's benchmark stock index Karachi-100 index has shaved nearly 16,700 points off its value ever since Pakistan-sponsored terrorists killed 26 tourists in Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22. The 100-pack index has fallen 14 per cent, as investors there fret over retaliation from India in days to come. 

On May 7, India launched Operation Sindoor on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, following which Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif threatened a forceful retaliation from Islamabad. 

On Thursday, KSE100 quoted at 1,01,771.17, down 8,400.89 points or 7.64 per cent. Trading in Pakistan Stock Exchange was earlier halted for an hour, as some reports also suggested hearing of loud explosions in Karachi and Lahore. Business Today could not confirm the reports independently. 

With today's fall, the index is down 16,659.18 points or 14.06 per cent over April 22's closing of 1,18,430.35. Indian stocks have been, on the other hand, relatively calm. The two benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty have in fact gained 0.6-1.2 per cent since April 22.  

"Since the 1990s, several high-stake India–Pakistan episodes—from Kargil and Parliament attacks to Uri and Pulwama—have tested nerves. But the Sensex has consistently demonstrated a remarkable immunity to sabre-rattling. Market corrections, if any, have been modest, short-lived and largely sentiment-driven. Fundamentals have prevailed," Anand Rathi said in a note.

Pakistan had earlier confirmed May 7 strikes in Bahawalpur, Kotli, Muzaffarabad and Muridke. Gulpur, Bhimber, Bagh, Chak Amru and Sialkot were some additional sites reportedly hit by Indian missiles. 

There are fears in Pakistan that the tensions could flare up between the two nations after the Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate against India's Operation Sindoor. Rating agency Moody's had earlier warned that a sustained escalation in tensions with India would likely weigh on Pakistan’s growth and hamper the government’s ongoing fiscal consolidation, setting back Pakistan’s progress in achieving macroeconomic stability

Stock investors in Pakistan were also spooked today by loud explosions that were heard in Lahore and Karachi this morning.  India earlier suspended the Indus Water Treaty and downgraded its diplomatic relations with the neighbouring country.