Heavy Selling Hits Key Sectors in Early Trading
Karachi: Selling pressure returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday as escalating tensions in the Gulf region rattled investors. The benchmark KSE-100 Index dropped sharply by nearly 2,200 points within minutes of opening.
By 9:25am, the index stood at 152,125.79, marking a decline of 2,166.46 points, or 1.40%. Investors offloaded shares across major sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, and oil and gas exploration. In addition, oil marketing companies, power generation firms, and refineries also traded lower.
Index-heavy stocks such as ARL, HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, HBL, MCB, MEBL, and NBP remained firmly in negative territory. Consequently, the broad-based decline reflected heightened uncertainty linked to geopolitical risks.
Global Markets Slide as Oil Prices Surge
The sharp drop followed a strong rally in the previous session. On Wednesday, the KSE-100 Index surged by 4,276.09 points, or 2.85%, closing at 154,292.26 amid improved sentiment and easing oil prices. However, the positive momentum quickly reversed as global developments shifted.
Meanwhile, international markets also weakened. Asian stocks fell, with Japan’s Nikkei down 2.5% and South Korean equities losing 1.5%. Similarly, MSCI’s Asia-Pacific index dropped over 1.5%, while European futures declined more than 1%.
At the same time, oil and gas prices rose sharply after intensifying conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran. US crude climbed about 1% to $97.07 per barrel, while Brent surged 4.5% to $112.19. Natural gas prices jumped more than 6%.
Furthermore, central banks, including the Bank of Japan, maintained cautious stances, highlighting inflation risks tied to rising energy costs. As a result, fears of prolonged conflict and stagflation continue to weigh heavily on global and local markets.
