The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) faced heavy selling pressure on Friday as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and rising global oil prices weighed on investor sentiment. The KSE-100 Index fell sharply, losing more than 1,600 points during intraday trading.
By 12:13 pm, the index was at 154,023.61, down 397.82 points (0.26%) from Thursday’s close of 154,421.43.
Losses were widespread across major sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, chemicals, commercial banks, fertilizer, and oil and gas exploration companies.
Top index-weighted stocks trading in the negative included HBL, MCB, MEBL, NBP, MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, PSO, SNGPL, and SSGC.
Thursday had also been a weak session, with the KSE-100 Index closing down 1,437.05 points (0.92%), reflecting continued caution among investors.
Market sentiment remained fragile due to concerns over the conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, as well as volatility in global energy markets.
International markets also showed weakness. Asian equities declined, with the MSCI Asia-Pacific index falling 0.5% for the day, while Japan’s Nikkei dropped 1.3%, South Korea’s market fell nearly 2%, and Taiwan’s equities lost around 1%.
The US dollar strengthened by about 2% since late February, and oil prices remained high, with Brent crude near $100 per barrel and US WTI at $95.05.
Investors are also adjusting expectations for US monetary policy, now pricing in smaller interest rate cuts this year compared with earlier projections.
The PSX is likely to remain volatile as global conflicts and energy prices continue to influence market trends.