PSX plunges by 8,752 points in March

Pakistan Stock Exchange remained under severe selling pressure and the KSE-100 index plunged by 8,752 points or 23.0 percent during March 2020, the worst ever monthly decline after December 2008.
The index has declined by 28.2 percent during the first quarter of current calendar year.
Key concerns of investors during the outgoing month remained the outbreak of coronavirus which spread across 195 countries including Pakistan whereby confirmed cases have exceeded 2000 and taken the death toll to 27, analyst said. Moreover, the lockdown situation prevailing in the country and its impact on the economy and sectors forced the investors to remain sellers in the market, they added.
The domestic bourse commenced on a positive note given lower inflationary reading for February 2020 and expectations of a rate cut which supported investors' sentiments, an analyst at Arif Habib Limited said. However, sharp decline in oil prices amid failure of OPEC plus meeting pushed the index into deep red territory by mid of March 2020, he added. Moreover, with the contagion of Corona gaining momentum globally and in Pakistan, international and regional equities entered bear market.
The KSE-100 index recorded its largest weekly decline since 2008 during the third week of the outgoing month.
In order to tackle the potential economic fallout of coronavirus and an ensuing lockdown situation across the country, the federal government announced an economic package of Rs 1.2 trillion, while SBP also reduced interest rates by an additional 150bps (total cut of 2.25 percent) along with several other measures to support local industries.