Selling at bourse, KSE-100 settles 2,300 points lower

A volatile trading session was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding over 2,300 points on Friday.

The market opened on a positive note and briefly climbed to an intraday high of 178,694.48, indicating early buying interest. However, the gains proved short-lived as sellers quickly took control, dragging the index lower.

The benchmark then traded largely range-bound around the 178,000-point level during the first half of the session before witnessing a sharp breakdown after mid-afternoon. Selling intensified during the second half, with the index falling steadily through the remainder of the session.

The KSE-100 eventually touched an intraday low of 175,790.62 shortly before the close.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 175,802.78, down by 2,320.78 points or 1.30%.

On Thursday, the PSX extended its recovery for a second consecutive session as renewed optimism over the possible resumption of dialogue between the United States and Iran improved global risk appetite. The benchmark KSE-100 Index settled at 178,123.57 points, gaining 2,837.78 points or 1.62%.

Internationally, Asian stocks got off to a rocky start on ​Friday as the drag from chipmakers weighed on global equity indexes, while oil prices were set for their sharpest weekly rise ‌in three months as tensions in the Middle East erupted anew.

Investors this week rotated out of semiconductor plays into other sectors such as banking after robust earnings from major lenders, leaving Asia vulnerable to the selloff given its heavier exposure to chips.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.06% in early Asia trade while the Nikkei ​slid 2.8%.

Nasdaq futures lost 0.7%, and S&P 500 futures declined 0.4%.

EUROSTOXX 50 futures were down 0.5%.

Markets in South Korea were closed for ​a holiday after the government on Thursday announced it would temporarily ban new listings of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that are tied to certain major technology firms, while raising minimum required deposits for retail investors to invest in such products, in an effort to curb volatility.