The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed selling pressure after the US military launched airstrikes against Iran as the benchmark KSE-100 Index dropped nearly 1,500 points during the morning trading on Wednesday.
At 11:16am, the benchmark index was trading at 184,775.12, a decline of 1,480.43 points or 0.79%.
Selling pressure was witnessed across major sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertilisers, oil marketing companies (OMCs), and power generation. Several index-heavy stocks, such as HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, UBL, and PPL, traded in negative territory.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) ended Tuesday’s session lower as investors opted for profit-taking after the benchmark KSE-100 Index traded close to its record high during intraday activity. However, expectations of robust corporate earnings in the upcoming results season continued to support market sentiment and helped cushion the decline.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index closed at 186,255.55 points, falling by 1,199.14 points, or 0.64%.
Meanwhile, global oil prices rose by nearly 2% on Wednesday after the US military carried out airstrikes against Iran and reinstated crude sales sanctions, fueling concerns that the fragile ceasefire could collapse and potentially disrupt oil supplies from the Middle East.
Brent crude futures increased by $1.38, or 1.9%, to $75.54 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed to $71.81 per barrel, gaining $1.37, or 1.9%, at 0128 GMT.
