Stocks bleed 2,159 points in a frantic week

The outgoing week witnessed massive fall in the KSE-100 index by 2,159 points (5.65 per cent) representing the worst weekly rout in seven months since August 2019.

The benchmark settled slightly above the 36,000level at 36,061. Given the bear rampage that pushed investor sentiments at new low, the decline would have been far steeper but for the ''trading halt'' mechanism which came to the rescue on three of the five sessions - Monday, Thursday and Friday.

The regulators had introduced new circuit breaker mechanism in December last year that provided the trading would be called to a halt if the KSE-30 index plunged by a maximum of 4pc and failed to break the bear stranglehold for more than five minutes. Trading restarts after a break of 45 minutes, providing a cooling period during which the panic in the market is replaced by rationale thinking. It also enables the collection of mark-to-market margins as a means to prevent systemic risk.

Mainly the growing fear of the coronavirus which the Worth Health Organisation declared as pandemic for the first time; the US President clamping travel ban on most European countries and the steep fall of 30pc in international oil price after

Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia failed to agree upon oil production cut and Saudi Arabia engaged in price war, took their toll on the global financial markets which saw the worst week since the global crisis of 2008.

Market meltdown was witnessed in bourses from Wall Street to Europe and Asia. In the heat of the moment, investors overlooked the enormous benefits to be brought about to the Pakistani economy due to hefty slump in oil prices; greater than expected drop in Inflation numbers for February which signalled a consensus expectations of 100 basis points cut in interest rate in monetary policy statement.