Selling pressure continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday as escalating tensions in the Middle East took their toll on investor sentiments, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
The PSX closed the last trading week session lower on Friday as persistent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continued to dampen investor sentiment. PSX witnessed a mixed session today, with the KSE-100 Index declining 718 points to close at 171,021.
"The market opened on a weak note as persistent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continued to weigh on investor sentiment," noted Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd.
Concerns over the ongoing conflict kept international oil prices and global borrowing costs elevated, prompting investors to maintain a cautious, risk-off stance. At Friday prayers break, the PSX’s benchmark KSE-100 Index was hovering at 170,475.30 points, down by 1,264.14 points or 0.74%.
Selling was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, ARL, MARI, OGDC, PPL, HBL, MCB, MEBL and NBP, traded in the red.
Earlier on Thursday, PSX remained firmly under bearish pressure with the Index plunging as intensifying geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran, coupled with a sharp rally in international crude oil prices, triggered widespread risk aversion and heavy selling across key sectors.
Reflecting the broad-based sell-off, the KSE-100 Index shed 2,690.48 points, or 1.54%, to settle at 171,739.45 points.
Globally, Asian shares fell on Friday as oil prices stormed back above $100 a barrel amid an intensifying conflict in the Gulf, rattling bond markets and reviving fears of a fresh inflation shock.
Brent crude held at $100.85 a barrel, after surging 7% overnight to a two-month high of $102 as attacks by Iran-aligned Houthis on Saudi tankers in the Red Sea choked off a second crucial Middle East artery for global oil supplies, alongside Iran’s near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
News that the U.S. administration will impose higher tariffs on goods from 60 trading partners also did not help the inflation picture, with 30-year Treasury yields nearing their highest levels since 2007 and benchmark European borrowing costs climbing to highs last seen in 2011.
Markets bet central banks will have to turn more hawkish, with a one-in-three chance of a rate hike from the Federal Reserve as soon as next week.
The European Central Bank left rates unchanged overnight, but a September rate hike is about 70% priced in.
In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1%, and Japan’s Nikkei slid 2.9%. South Korea’s KOSPI dropped 3.7%.
Reporter: Basim Iftikhar