KSE-100 sheds over 3,700 points as geopolitical risks deepen

Negative sentiments were observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) over the risk of a long war in the Middle East. The benchmark KSE-100 Index lost over 3,700 points during the opening minutes of trading on Monday. At 10:40am, the benchmark index was hovering at 147,950.31, a decrease of 3,757.20 points or 2.48%. Selling was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks, including ARL, HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, HBL, MEBL, MCB and NBP, traded in the red. Pakistan said it was preparing to host “meaningful talks” to end the conflict over Iran in the coming days, even though Tehran earlier accused Washington of preparing a land assault as the U.S. military sends more troops to the region.