05-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
PSX under pressure, KSE-100 down nearly 900 points
Selling pressure returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) amid escalating geopolitical tension between Pakistan and India, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index losing nearly 900 points during the opening hours of trading on Monday.
At 9:40am, the benchmark index was hovering at 113,223.46 level, a decrease of 890.47 points or 0.78%.
Sentiments remain subdued across key sectors including power generation, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, automobile assemblers and commercial banks. Key stocks including HUBCO, PSO, SNGPL, MARI, OGDC, PPL, MEBL, NBP and UBL traded in the red.
The decline follows media reports suggesting that Indian airstrikes could be imminent, after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a significant 40-minute meeting with Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on Sunday.
The meeting comes in the wake of the recent Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir.
Investors are also awaiting the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision on the policy rate, with the meeting scheduled for later in the day.
During the previous week, PSX remained volatile amid escalating geopolitical tension between Pakistan and India. The benchmark KSE-100 Index shed 1,355.41 points, or 1.2%, on a week-on-week basis, closing at 114,114 points compared to 115,469 points in the previous week.
Globally, Indian shares held firm on Monday, supported by easing global trade tensions, steady foreign inflows, and a drop in crude prices that lifted investor sentiment.
The Nifty 50 was up 0.59% at 24,487.14 and the BSE Sensex gained 0.54% to 80,936.4 as of 10:03am IST.
The benchmarks logged their longest weekly winning streak so far in 2025 on Friday, helped by renewed optimism over a potential India-U.S. trade deal.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) scooped up Indian shares for the 12th consecutive session on Friday, their longest daily buying streak in two years.
However, the gains have been capped by somewhat muted March quarter earnings season so far and geopolitical concerns, two analysts said.
This is an intra-day update
