Selling at bourse, KSE-100 sheds over 600 points

Selling pressure was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding over 600 points on Monday amid rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

The market opened on a weak note and witnessed an early steep decline, with the index falling to an intra-day low of 169,583.44. However, buying interest gradually emerged, helping the benchmark recover losses through late morning and early afternoon sessions.

The recovery momentum strengthened around mid-day, pushing the index towards the intra-day high of 171,304.10. However, despite the rebound, the market failed to sustain gains as late-session selling pressure erased most of the recovery.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 170,506.31, down by 609.51 points or 0.36%.

“The benchmark index endured a volatile and range-bound trading session, as investor sentiment remained fragile amid the absence of any concrete progress in ongoing negotiations and persistent uncertainty surrounding developments between the United States and Iran,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.

Index-heavy stocks, including UBL, LUCK, ENGROH, MEBL, and NBP collectively dragging the index down by 667 points, Topline said.

During the previous week, Pakistan’s stock market staged a strong recovery, with the KSE-100 Index gaining 5%, or 8,121.64 points, as improving diplomatic sentiment surrounding a possible peace memorandum between the United States and Iran lifted investor confidence after weeks of geopolitical uncertainty. The KSE-100 Index opened the week at 162,994.17 points and closed at 171,115.81 points.

Internationally, the US dollar climbed in Asia on Monday on signs that talks between ​the United States and Iran were deadlocked, leaving the vital Strait of Hormuz all but shut and ‌sending oil prices higher.

US stock futures wobbled, and in Asia, gains in a handful of AI-related stocks lifted share markets in Seoul and mainland China.

President Donald Trump on Sunday rejected Iran’s response to a US proposal for peace talks to end the war, saying Tehran’s demands were “totally unacceptable.”

An Iranian ​plan sent to the US stressed the need for an end to the war on all fronts and the ​lifting of sanctions on Tehran, along with reparations and a recognition of Iran’s control of the ⁠Strait, Iranian media reported.

S&P 500 futures slipped 0.1%, while Nasdaq futures eased 0.05%. Shares had ​hit record highs last week ​on the back of upbeat ⁠corporate earnings and a solid payrolls report.

Results out this week include tech networking equipment firm Cisco and semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials. Heavyweights Nvidia and Walmart are due later in the month.

Japan’s ​Nikkei fell 0.36%, erasing earlier gains. South Korea’s chipmaker-heavy KOSPI index rose 4%.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee continued to gain, appreciating 0.01%, against the US dollar during trading in the inter-bank market on Monday. At close, the local currency settled at 278.67, a gain of Rs0.03 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index increased to 1,103.29 million from 1,025.27 million recorded in the previous close.

However, the value of shares declined to Rs31.04 billion from Rs36.67 billion in the previous session.

K-Electric Ltd was the volume leader with 376.83 million shares, followed by Agha Steel Ind with 51.88 million shares, and Cnergyico PK with 47.39 million shares.

Shares of 488 companies were traded on Monday, of which 234 registered an increase, 215 recorded a fall, and 39 remained unchanged.