A major fire erupted on the 4th floor of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) building in Karachi, leading to a suspension of trading, according to local media reports.
Fire brigade vehicles were deployed to control the blaze, and the Karachi Stock Exchange website confirmed the temporary halt in trading activities.
The situation was brought under control, and employees were allowed back into their offices, as stated in an official notice. Although trading resumed on schedule, several brokerage houses experienced disruptions, noted Bilal Khan, head of institutional equity sales at Arif Habib in Karachi, according to Bloomberg.
The fire started an hour before trading was set to begin, preventing employees from entering the building. Humayun Javed, CEO at WE Financial Services, mentioned that the fire originated at one of the brokerage houses but did not spread further.