The KSE-100 Index suffered a sharp decline on Monday as investors rushed to sell shares amid rising geopolitical tensions involving the United States and Iran, triggering broad-based losses across major sectors.
The benchmark index dropped more than 2,000 points during intraday trading, falling by 2,046 points to 168,432.45 shortly after the market opened. Selling pressure persisted throughout the session, with the index trading at 168,706.98 by 2:28 pm, down 1,771.96 points or 1.04 percent from the previous close.
Market participants offloaded stocks across a wide range of sectors, including cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, power generation, and refineries, reflecting weakening investor sentiment.
The decline follows a difficult week for the market, during which the KSE-100 Index lost 3,483.87 points, or 2 percent, to close at 170,478.94 points. Analysts attributed the continued weakness to uncertainty surrounding regional and global geopolitical developments.
Global equity markets also came under pressure on Monday as investors reacted to rising oil prices and escalating tensions in the Middle East. Concerns over tighter monetary policy intensified after stronger-than-expected U.S. employment data reduced expectations for near-term interest rate cuts.
Asian markets recorded significant losses, with South Korea’s benchmark index leading regional declines, while Japanese and Taiwanese equities also traded sharply lower. European markets opened in negative territory as investors assessed the impact of higher energy prices and global economic uncertainty.
Analysts said continued volatility in international markets and geopolitical risks could keep pressure on investor sentiment in the near term, with traders closely monitoring developments in global energy markets and central bank policy expectations.
