Pakistan’s Stock Markets Suffer Post Operation Sindoor, Benchmark Index Logs Worst Single Day Drop In 4 Years

<p>Pakistan&rsquo;s equity markets opened sharply lower on May 7, reeling from the fallout of India’s overnight military operation, codenamed Operation Sindoor, which targeted terror camps within Pakistan. As part of the operation, the Indian military launched precision airstrikes on several locations in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and Pakistan, targeting terrorist infrastructure. India emphasised the strikes were ‘focused, measured, and non-escalatory’ in nature.</p>
<p>The KSE-100 Index, the country&rsquo;s key stock market benchmark, fell as much as 5.7 per cent in early trade&mdash;marking its worst single-day drop since 2021&mdash;before paring back some of those losses. The dramatic fall reflected heightened investor anxiety following renewed cross-border tensions.</p>
<p>In contrast, Indian markets showed relative calm. The Sensex and Nifty 50 indices opened slightly lower but avoided major swings, indicating limited immediate impact on investor sentiment across the border.</p>
<h3>Rising Tensions Worsen an Already Shaky Market</h3>
<p>The sharp correction on May 7 followed a troubling trend for the Pakistani stock market. The KSE-100 has already declined over 6 per cent in April, marking its most dismal monthly performance since August 2023, reported Moneycontrol.</p>
<p>This slide has been attributed to growing geopolitical uncertainty, which has triggered widespread selling. As of now, the index is down around 1.1 per cent for the year, a stark reversal after surging more than 86 per cent in 2024 and posting a 25 per cent gain in 2023.</p>
<p>Investor confidence had seen signs of revival prior to the recent escalation. A combination of favourable global oil prices and a sovereign credit rating upgrade helped boost sentiment. In fact, 2024 was Pakistan&rsquo;s best stock market year in over two decades, attracting attention from major global investment firms. Analysts noted that BlackRock and Eaton Vance &nbsp;increased their exposure to Pakistan&rsquo;s $50 billion equity market, in light of the impressive 84 per cent return logged last year.</p>
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<h3>Fundamentals Improve, But Risks Linger</h3>
<p>The earlier was supported by an IMF bailout agreement and improved economic data. A stronger current account and easing inflation &nbsp;contributed to the market&rsquo;s rise. Still, structural issues continued to weigh on the outlook.</p>
<p>Analysts warned that persistent political instability could derail economic gains. Fiscal concerns have also resurfaced&mdash;Pakistan recently fell short of its six-month tax collection target by 6 per cent, raising doubts about the release of future tranches from the $7 billion IMF program. The situation was further compounded in September 2024, when FTSE Russell downgraded Pakistan to frontier market status. That move triggered steady foreign outflows in the final quarter of last year, adding more pressure to an already volatile market.</p>