PSX: KSE-100 sheds over 3,000 points on Middle East conflict, oil surge

Heavy selling pressure was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday as Iran ‌and the United States launched their largest attacks on shipping since their six-month-old conflict began, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing with a loss of over 3000 points.

The benchmark index opened near the previous close and hit the intra-day high of 171,945.83 before persistent selling dragged it lower.

After briefly consolidating around the 170,500–170,900, the market resumed its decline in the afternoon, with selling pressure intensifying in the final hour. The index touched an intra-day low of 168,471.78.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 168,865.04, down 3,078.55 points or 1.79%.

Analysts attributed the decline to a number of factors, especially geopolitical ones.

“Over the last one to two days, we have seen renewed tensions on the geopolitical front, particularly between the US and Iran,” Sana Tawfik, Head of Research at Arif Habib Limited, told Business Recorder.

Following the attack, oil prices crossed the $100-per-barrel mark.

“The combination of heightened geopolitical tensions and rising oil prices has consequently created selling pressure in the market,” she said.

The analyst shared that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is expected to maintain the status quo in the upcoming monetary policy announcement on Monday.

“However, the recent increase in domestic oil prices, which have risen consecutively, has also brought monetary policy into sharper focus. As a result, the market will be closely monitoring the monetary policy decision,” she said.

In another key development, Pakistan said on Thursday that there were no discussions about a military reaction ​from Islamabad under the Makkah agreement in response to ‌the Houthis’ attacks on Saudi Arabia, but added that Pakistan would act when the “time comes”.

On Wednesday, persistent geopolitical tensions across the Middle East and rising global crude oil prices dragged the PSX into negative territory as selective profit-taking led key benchmark indices to settle lower. The KSE-100 Index shed 698.56 points, or 0.40%, to close at 171,943.60 points.

Internationally, Asian stocks slid on Thursday as the biggest wave of attacks on shipping in the widening ​war in the Middle East kept oil prices above $100 a barrel, leaving investors nervous ahead of US inflation data that will influence monetary ‌policy.

Benchmark 10-year US Treasury yields held steady at 4.8406% after scaling to their highest since 2023 in the previous session as the Treasury Department announced a $6 billion buyback of longer-dated bonds that disappointed some investors who had wanted more.

Brent crude futures edged up to $101.4 per barrel in early trading, having broken through the psychologically crucial $100 mark on Wednesday for the first time since July ​as traders grappled with the prospect of inflationary pressure.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1%. Japan’s Nikkei and South Korea’s KOSPI dipped more than 1%.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee extended its marginal gains against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Thursday. The local unit closed the day at 277.35, a gain of Re0.01 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index increased to 628.67 million from 477.67 million recorded in the previous close.

The value of shares rose to Rs27.02 billion from Rs22.64 billion in the previous session.

Cnergyico PK was the volume leader with 99.40 million shares, followed by Tasdeeq Information with 40.99 million shares, and Media Times Ltd with 29.48 million shares.

Shares of 499 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 58 registered an increase, 406 recorded a fall, and 35 remained unchanged.