Selling intensifies at bourse, KSE-100 sheds over 1,100 points
- Benchmark index was hovering at 180,156.77
Selling pressure was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) amid fading hopes of a deal between the US and Iran to end their war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding over 1,100 points during the opening minutes of trading on Tuesday.
At 9:35am, the benchmark index was hovering at 180,156.77, down by 1,153.51 points or 0.64%.
Selling was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies and OMCs. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, FFC, HBL, MCB, MEBL and UBL, traded in the red.
On Monday, PSX closed marginally lower as profit-taking in key heavyweight stocks during the second half of the session erased early gains, leaving the Index almost unchanged. The KSE-100 Index declined by 119.74 points, or 0.07%, to settle at 181,310.28 points.
Internationally, oil prices rose on Tuesday as negotiations between the US and Iran over a peace deal and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz hit an impasse, while Asian shares drifted on protracted uncertainty over the global inflation outlook.
US President Donald Trump on Monday responded to Iran’s conditions for a peace deal with his own demands that Iran pay compensation for people killed in wars, attacks and protests, in a rhetorical escalation likely to complicate efforts to reopen the crucial waterway.
Brent crude futures edged up to hit $88.00 per barrel and US crude futures ticked up to $82.45, both the highest levels since July 31, after the contracts rallied roughly 5% on Monday.
The latest uptick in fuel costs raises the stakes for the U.S. July consumer price report due on Wednesday, where expectations are for a monthly rise of 0.1% in the headline reading and 0.2% for the core measure.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan swung between losses and gains and was last up 0.2% while South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.3%, as the latest escalation in Gulf hostilities kept market sentiment fragile.
Nasdaq futures edged 0.28% higher while S&P 500 futures added 0.1% after Wall Street ended lower in Monday’s cash session.
This is an intraday update
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