Selling pressure continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index declining nearly 200 points as investors remained cautious amid heightened political and geopolitical uncertainty.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 176,966.68, a decline of 199.84 points or 0.11%.
Profit-taking and selling were witnessed across several key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, power generation firms and refineries.
Investor sentiment had already weakened during the previous week as political and geopolitical tensions intensified. Concerns over developments surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, along with a sharp increase in international oil prices, added to market uncertainty.
The KSE-100 Index opened the week at 180,104.61 points and ended at 177,166.52 points, losing 2,938.09 points, or 1.6%, on a week-on-week basis.
Meanwhile, international oil prices declined by more than $1 a barrel on Monday as investors booked profits ahead of an expected announcement from Washington on additional sanctions against Iran.
The potential measures could further disrupt oil supplies from the Middle East.
Brent crude futures fell $1.23, or 1.3%, to $93.16 a barrel by 0329 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude declined $1.36, or 1.6%, to $85.70 a barrel.
