Fearing Indian retaliation, Karachi stock market plummets

Following the attack on Indian soldiers in Uri, Wednesday's closure of airspace over Pakistan's northern areas as well as Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fighter planes participating in exercises, negatively impacted the Karachi Stock Exchange, which plummeted 569 points to close at 39,771.

According to a report in the Times of India, local market analysts believe that drills by Pakistan Air Force against any aggression by India in the aftermath of the Uri attack drove small investors away.

According to a report in the Dawn, panic was triggered by individual small investors, who were dabbling in "penny stocks" that usually generate the biggest volumes in the market.

According to a report in TOI, former Karachi Stock Exchange chairman Arif Habib blamed the 'hype' surrounding a possible confrontation with India as the primary cause behind Wednesday's fall.

After the Uri attack, state-run Pakistan International Airline cancelled flights to Gilgit-Baltistan, Chitral, Gilgit and Skardu. Instead, flights by Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fueled the speculative fire of a possible confrontation with India.