Selling sentiment was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding over 350 points during the opening minutes of trading on Monday.
At 9:45am, the benchmark index was hovering at 166,059.72, down 359.99 points or 0.22%.
Selling was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies and OMCs. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, MARI, PPL, PSO, SSGC, SNGPL, HBL, NBP and UBL, traded in the red.
On Friday, the PSX closed marginally higher as a lack of fresh market triggers and elevated global crude oil prices kept investors cautious, limiting gains during a range-bound trading session. The benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 233.55 points, or 0.14%, to close at 166,419.72 points.
Globally, Asian share markets slipped on Monday as unease over AI’s enormous funding needs undermined confidence ahead of a week packed with earnings, while Chinese economic data pipped forecasts in a positive for world growth.
A fall in oil prices offered some support to bonds and Wall Street stock futures, limiting Asia’s losses. Oil fell following US President Donald Trump’s decision to waive some sanctions on Russia, though he later said a final decision on the matter had not been made.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that the president would take up to 60 days to assess the economic impact of such a move. Meanwhile, Iran reported another tanker had hit a mine in the Strait of Hormuz.
Geopolitical tensions combined with safe-haven flows from equities to extend a rally in sovereign bonds, with 10-year Treasury yields down 4 basis points at 5.0525%, having just recorded their largest weekly fall in over eight months.
All of this helped S&P 500 futures edge up 0.7%, while Nasdaq futures rose 1.0%.
Asian markets were hampered by concerns about tech and Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.2%, after losing 5.4% last week. South Korea dropped 0.4%, having shed more than 14% last week, while Taiwan fell 1.4%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.6%.
This is an intraday update