Political events and their

impact on kse 100

Omar Masood, Bora Aktan*

IMPACT OF POLITICAL EVENTS ON EMERGING EQUITY

MARKETS: THE CASE OF PAKISTAN
With base points of only 1000 the KSE index was launched 1991. In the first 10
years it only grew to 1,773 points. But 4 years later by 2005, the index had skyrocketed
to over 9,000 points. KSE-100 index reached its highest ever benchmark of 14,589
points right before the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto after
which the index nosedived. In the beginning of 2008 the index quickly recovered
reaching 15,500 in April. However, during April and August same year it lost more
than 50% of its value falling to 9,187 points.
Karachi Stock Exchange started with an index of 50 shares. As the market
became bigger a need for the representative index was felt. After the KSE 100 index
was introduced on November 1, 1991 it became the most generally accepted measure
of exchange. The KSE-100 index consists of 100 companies representing more than
90% of market capitalization. KSE all share index was constructed and introduced on
September 18, 1995.