The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) began the week on a negative note as the benchmark KSE-100 Index dropped nearly 5,000 points on Monday.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 146,842.97, down 4,864.54 points or 3.21%.
Selling pressure was seen across several key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation, and refineries. Heavyweight stocks such as ARL, HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, HBL, MEBL, MCB, and NBP all ended the session in negative territory.
Throughout the previous week, the PSX remained volatile and largely directionless. Rising regional tensions, sharp fluctuations in global oil prices, and tighter monetary conditions continued to dampen investor sentiment, leading to another weekly loss.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index closed at 151,707.52 points, declining by 1,032.85 points, or 0.7% on a week-on-week basis.
On the global front, oil prices continued their upward momentum on Monday, with Brent crude on track for a record monthly gain. This surge followed fresh attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on Israel over the weekend, further escalating tensions in the Middle East and widening the US-Israel conflict with Iran.
Brent crude futures rose by $3.94, or 3.5%, to $116.51 per barrel at 0703 GMT, after posting a 4.2% increase in the previous session.
Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate climbed $1.86, or 1.87%, to $102.14 per barrel, building on a 5.5% gain recorded earlier.
