The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) came under selling pressure on Tuesday after posting a historic rally in the previous session, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding more than 500 points.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 177,623.88, a loss of 638.45 points or 0.36%.
The decline was driven by profit-taking across major sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, and refineries. Heavyweight stocks such as PPL, OGDC, HUBCO, Mari Energies, and UBL were among the main laggards.
The pullback followed Monday’s record-breaking rally, when investor sentiment improved after the suspension of military strikes between the United States and Iran. The easing of geopolitical tensions fueled optimism over a potential diplomatic resolution to the Middle East conflict and the reopening of key shipping routes.
On Monday, the benchmark KSE-100 Index surged 7,241.13 points, or 4.23%, to settle at 178,262.34.
Meanwhile, international oil prices extended their decline on Tuesday as investors assessed the impact of the pause in hostilities between the United States and Iran. The easing of tensions has strengthened expectations of uninterrupted Middle East energy supplies.
Brent crude futures fell $0.54, or 0.6%, to $87.82 per barrel by 0046 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slipped $0.66, or 0.8%, to $81.95 per barrel.
