What began as early selling quickly turned into a full-scale market washout at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday, as investors rushed to offload shares following renewed military tensions between the United States and Iran. The benchmark KSE-100 Index remained under severe pressure throughout the session amid fears that the conflict could disrupt global energy supplies and push oil prices higher.

Trading opened on a sharply negative note, with the benchmark index falling to 180,392.40 points, down 1,849.37 points (1.01%), by 9:39am. Although the market staged a modest rebound during the latter part of the day and briefly recovered around 2:25pm, the rebound proved short-lived, with renewed selling dragging the benchmark lower before the close.

Ultimately, the KSE-100 index ended the session at 179,927.05 points, shedding 2,314.73 points, or 1.27% from the previous close. The index touched an intraday high of 181,148.27 points and a low of 179,448.52 points, reflecting heightened volatility throughout the session.

Selling remained broad-based, with commercial banks, cement, fertiliser, oil and gas, and power sector stocks all closing in negative territory, underscoring the widespread risk-off sentiment that dominated trading throughout the day.

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“The KSE-100 index closed 179,927 points, down 2,314 points (-1.27% DoD), as broad-based selling pressure persisted throughout the session. Investor sentiment remained weak following developments over the weekend, leading to a risk-off trading environment and pushing the benchmark lower across most of the day,” KTrade Securities equity trader Ahmed Sheraz wrote.

Weakness came in the backdrop of several reported ceasefire violations over the weekend, which reignited geopolitical concerns and dampened investor confidence. Going forward, market direction will remain closely tied to developments on the geopolitical front, particularly their potential impact on regional stability, global energy prices, and overall risk sentiment, Sheraz added.

Trading activity, however, remained healthy during the session, with 365 million shares exchanged.  The decline was largely driven by heavyweight stocks, with United Bank, Meezan Bank, Fauji Fertiliser, Hub Power, Lucky Cement, and Eangro Holdings emerging as the biggest drags on the benchmark.

Sector-wise, commercial banks, cement, fertilisers, oil & gas, and power all closed in negative territory, highlighting the broad-based nature of the selloff.

Meanwhile, overall trading volume decreased to 845.2 million shares from Friday’s close of 948.7 million. The value of traded shares stood at Rs35.5 billion. In ready market, shares of 497 companies were traded, of which 128 shares closed higher, 335 fell and 34 remained unchanged.

Cnergyico Pk was the volume eader with trading in 158.6 million shares, rising Rs0.36 to close at Rs10.05.