May 07, 2025 04:59 PM IST
India’s overnight airstrikes on terrorist sites in Pakistan caused a significant stock market crash, with the KSE 100 index plunging.
India’s overnight strikes on nine terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) triggered a stock market crash in the country on Wednesday as its main stock market index, the KSE 100 (Karachi Stock Exchange), plunged by 6,272 points or 6% in early trading.
Several hours after India carried out ‘Operation Sindoor’, the KSE-100 index declined, hitting a low of 112,076.38 and triggering panic selling across trading floors.
As of now, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) showed no signs of recovery. The PSX website shows a message stating that it is “under maintenance until further notice.”
Why did Pakistan markets crash?
The sharp decline can be attributed to India’s precision military strikes under Operation Sindoor which targetted terror infrastructure inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Tensions between the two countries have flared dramatically after the overnight strikes as nine locations were hit by air strike in the early hours of Wednesday.
Citizens in both nations woke up to news of fighter jets in the air and ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC). Markets in both India and Pakistan reacted to the air raids. In India, the Sensex hit the day’s high of 80,844.63 and an intra-day low of 79,937.48 while Nifty hit a high of 24,449.60 and a low of 24,220.
All about Operation Sindoor
In response to the brutal Pahalgam attack that left 26 Indian tourists dead on April 22, India carried out ‘Operation Sindoor’ targetting nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) with precision air strikes. In the early hours of Wednesday, the Indian Army confirmed the military operation and said in a post on X “Justice is served. Jai Hind!”.
The overnight operation targeted alleged hideouts of terror groups Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), known to operate within Pakistan’s territory. The Indian Army has stated that the targets were chosen based on strong intelligence inputs and involvement in terror activities.
(Also read: Meet Vyomika Singh, IAF wing commander who led the ‘Operation Sindoor’ briefing)
