PSX: Selling continues, KSE-100 sheds nearly 700 points

Selling pressure continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) amid escalating geopolitical tensions, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding nearly 700 points during the first half of the trading session on Friday. At 12pm, the benchmark index was hovering at 168, 196. 21, down by 668. 83 points or 0. 40%. Selling was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including ARL, HUBCO, OGDC, PPL, POL, MARI, MCB, MEBL, NBP and UBL, traded in the red. On Thursday, PSX suffered a major pullback as renewed US-Iran attacks and surging international crude prices triggered aggressive selling across the market, with benchmark indices falling sharply amid heightened concerns over inflation, the external account and broader macroeconomic stability. The benchmark KSE-100 Index plunged 3, 078. 56 points, or 1. 79%, to settle at 168, 865. 04 points. Internationally, global bond yields ​spiked to new highs and share markets slumped on Friday as soaring oil prices inflamed inflation risks, sending investors scrambling to price in ‌more policy tightening from central banks across the globe. Brent crude climbed to a four-month high of $109. 97 a barrel on Friday after a 6% overnight jump, capping a weekly gain of nearly 13%. Oil flows remained restricted through the Strait of Hormuz as the US and Iran traded attacks, while Houthis seized control of Yemen’s port of Mocha, threatening Saudi oil exports in the Red ​Sea. That ⁠was a wake-up call for markets that are finally starting to price in the risk of a protracted war. Comments from President Donald Trump that the war could ​last beyond the November midterm elections haven’t helped, with bond yields surging globally on heightened inflation fears. Higher bond yields raised the discount rates used for corporate valuations, leaving Asian stocks in deep losses. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 1. 8% ⁠while Japan’s ​Nikkei tumbled 2. 8%. Chinese blue-chips fell 1. 2%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1. 5%. Nasdaq futures fell ​0. 2%, and S&P 500 futures were little changed. This is an intraday update

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