Business Recorder
Selling pressure was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding over 800 points on Monday. At 9:50am, the benchmark index was hovering at 173,152.71, down by 810.10 points or 0.47%. 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, MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, HBL, MCB, MEBL, NBP and UBL, traded in the red. During the previous week, Pakistan equities posted a strong recovery during the outgoing week as easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and improving domestic economic indicators significantly boosted investor confidence, helping the benchmark KSE-100 Index gain 4% in a holiday-shortened trading week. The benchmark KSE-100 Index surged by 6,119 points on a week-on-week basis to close at 173,963 points. Internationally, Asian share markets firmed on Monday as the boom in all things AI continued to drive demand, offsetting a lack of progress in Gulf peace talks that challenged optimism on a re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz and lifted oil prices. While negotiators from Washington and Tehran are apparently working to hammer out a deal, President Donald Trump has been notably silent on their progress. Speaking on Saturday, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US was ready to restart attacks on Iran if a deal could not be reached. Tensions in the region were not helped by an Israeli push further into Lebanon in the battle against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group. Indeed, the lack of news nudged Brent up 1.9% to $92.89 a barrel, while U.S. crude added 2.4% to $89.46. Asian share markets remain underpinned by demand for semiconductors and AI-related gear, with Japan’s Nikkei up a further 0.5%, having risen almost 5% last week to all-time highs. South Korea rose 1.3%, after surging 8% last week, while Taiwan climbed almost 6% last week. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.2%. This is an intraday update
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