Karachi: A fire broke out at the Pakistan Stock Exchange building in Karachi, Sindh province, on Monday, halting operations at the PSX, police said. No casualties were reported in the blaze, which broke out on the fourth floor of the building, police officials said. The stock exchange reopened to the public in the afternoon after firefighters put out the blaze and began cooling operations.
“We inform all TRE security holders and interested parties that trading in all securities has been suspended from 10:25 am to 11:25 am today (Monday),” PSX general manager and chief market operations officer Jawad H. Hashmi said in a statement. Altaf Saliom, deputy commissioner South, said two PSX offices were damaged in the fire. He said police would investigate the cause of the fire once the cooling process was over.
The fire initially broke out on the fourth floor of the building that houses the offices of Ali Habib Trading Company, he said. No fatalities had been reported and six fire engines, snorkels and water cannons were used to put out the blaze, according to Sindh Rescue 1122 spokesman Hassan Khan.
The city has been experiencing extremely hot weather in recent weeks, which can cause electrical equipment and wiring to overheat and start a fire, with several fires reported in the city in recent months.
The PSX’s main stock index, the KSE 100, has risen to an all-time high of more than 80,000 points in recent months, helped by an International Monetary Fund bailout last summer that averted a default and, more recently, continued reforms under the bank umbrella.On Monday, when trading resumed after the fire, the KSE 100 rose 0.3%, or about 260 points.
(With input from agency)
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