KSE-100 tumbles over 3% as selling pressure grips PSX

Selling pressure gripped the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday after a brief early buying, dragging the benchmark KSE-100 Index down more than 5,400 points or over 3% by the close.

According to the PSX website, the market opened on a positive note, rising by more than 1,100 points by 09:30 am, but selling pressure soon intensified, reversing early gains and pushing the benchmark index into a downward trajectory.

During the intraday trading, the KSE-100 plummeted to its lowest level of 166,886.63, shedding more than 6,282.47 points at around 1:30 pm.

Broad-based losses were seen across major sectors, including oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies, power generation, refineries, automobile assemblers, cement and commercial banks. Heavyweight stocks such as Attock Refinery, Mari Petroleum, Pakistan Petroleum, MCB Bank, Meezan Bank and United Bank Limited traded in the red.

At the end of the session, the market settled at 167,691.08, down by 5478.63 points or 3.16% from the previous close.

The decline follows a sharp correction last week, when the benchmark dropped 6,434.02 points, or 3.6% week-on-week, to close at 173,169.70 points. Escalating tensions between the United States and Iran had triggered risk aversion in global markets and pushed oil prices higher.

Internationally, market sentiment remained fragile. Wall Street futures and the US dollar weakened in Asian trading, while gold gained. Oil prices eased ahead of fresh US-Iran talks scheduled in Geneva on Thursday, amid concerns over possible military action if negotiations fail.

Investor uncertainty also rose after the US Supreme Court struck down emergency tariffs announced by President Donald Trump. The president subsequently proposed a 10% tariff on imports from the rest of the world before revising it to 15%, creating confusion over timing and scope.

Asian markets traded mixed in light volumes. MSCI’s broad Asia-Pacific index outside Japan rose 0.8%, while Japan’s Nikkei was closed for a holiday, with futures down 1%. South Korea advanced 1.2%, extending last week’s gains, and Taiwan climbed 1.2% to a record high.