PSX suspends trading following 15,000-point crash

KARACHI: Heavy selling swept through the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday as rising geopolitical tensions rattled investor confidence, pulling the benchmark KSE-100 Index to 152,991.15 points.

Within moments of opening, the index had dropped below 153,000 points mark 152,991.15, down 15,071.01 points or nearly 9 per cent. Following the sharp decline, trading was temporarily suspended under PSX regulations.

Selling pressure was broad-based, hitting major sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies, power generation and refineries. Heavyweight stocks such as HBL, MCB, MEBL, MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, HUBCO and ARL all traded lower, media reports said on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance began its initial meeting with an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission on Monday, a development being closely watched by investors.

The downturn follows a difficult previous week in which the KSE-100 Index fell 5,107.53 points, or 2.9 per cent, to close at 168,062.17, as geopolitical strains and domestic security concerns dampened sentiment despite a brief recovery late in the week.

Globally, markets were also unsettled. Oil prices surged amid fears that conflict in the Middle East could drag on for weeks, lifting Brent and US crude sharply. Gold prices advanced as investors sought safe-haven assets, while Asian equities broadly declined. Concerns remain focused on the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil and gas shipments, where tanker traffic has slowed amid security worries.