Selling at bourse as stalled Iran-US talks dent sentiments

Selling pressure was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding nearly 1, 200 points during the opening minutes of trading on Monday. At 9: 34am, the benchmark index was hovering at 169, 472. 94, a decrease of 1, 199. 10 points or 0. 70%. Selling was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies and OMCs. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, OGDC, PPL, PSO, MCB, MEBL and UBL, traded in the red. During the previous week, Pakistan’s stock market remained under pressure during the past week, as persistent geopolitical uncertainty surrounding US-Iran ceasefire negotiations, elevated global oil prices, additional IMF-linked policy concerns and domestic energy shortages combined to dampen investor sentiment. The benchmark KSE-100 Index was down 3, 266. 98 points, or 1. 9% week-on-week, to close at 170, 672. 04 points. Internationally, oil climbed on Monday as stalled ​US-Iran peace talks prolonged the disruption of Middle East energy exports, while renewed excitement about artificial intelligence spending drove up chip stocks ‌at the beginning of a week where war, central banks and tech earnings are in focus. Benchmark Brent crude futures rose around 2% to touch a three-week high of $107. 97 a barrel in Asia trade, a level that has stoked inflation worries and prompted traders to all but price out rate cuts in developed markets this year. S&P 500 futures wobbled in the Asia session but tacked ​on small gains of around 0. 2% after markets in Taiwan, Tokyo and Seoul followed Wall Street to notch record highs on a new ​wave of AI optimism. Currency trading was broadly steady – with the euro at $1. 1724 and yen at 159. 32 per dollar. Bond ⁠markets were calm ahead of central bank meetings in Japan, the U. S. , Britain, Europe, Canada and a smattering of emerging markets. While a ceasefire has frozen ​most fighting in the war triggered by U. S. -Israeli strikes on Iran two months ago, markets are focused on the shuttered Strait of Hormuz, where barely any ​ships carrying oil and gas have transited. This is an intra-day update

Read full story on Business Recorder