PSX marks record one-day slump

In a turbulent session at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the KSE-100 index registered its largest-ever single-day drop as it plummeted 3,506 points, or 3.57%, due to rising political instability concerns among investors. Analysts attributed the political instability to the ongoing protests being held by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), compounded by weakening investor sentiment and foreign fund outflows. Despite a strong performance by the banking sector, spurred by the State Bank of Pakistan's (SBP) withdrawal of the minimum deposit rate requirement for conventional banks, panic selling led to widespread losses across most of the sectors. The trading session saw that the index after remaining almost flat earlier in the day rose to the intra-day high of 99,819.59 points before midday. Soon after, the index started declining rapidly and slumped to the intra-day low at 94,180.59 just before the close of trading.