PSX falls nearly 800 points in early trading

Selling pressure was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding nearly 800 points during the opening minutes of trading on Monday. At 10: 15am, the benchmark index was hovering at 174, 556. 32, a decrease of 772. 50 or 0. 44%. Selling was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, OMCs and refineries. Index-heavy stocks, including ARL, HUBCO, PSO, FFC, MEBL, NBP and UBL, traded in the red. During the previous week, the PSX came under pressure with the benchmark KSE-100 Index falling 1. 3% to settle at 175, 328. 81 points, as renewed US-Iran military skirmishes heightened geopolitical uncertainty and a sharp rise in international oil prices added to concerns over inflation and the external account. Internationally, Asian shares rallied on Monday as the robust US jobs ​report was seen as positive for global growth even as it narrowed the odds of a rise in interest rates, ‌while oil edged higher after the US and Iran attacked ships in the Gulf. Tehran said it will announce a restricted zone outside the Strait of Hormuz in the coming days, after US forces hit three Iranian tankers and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles at two US Navy ships. As a result, Brent added 0. 2% to reach $96. 45 a barrel, ​having climbed almost 10% last week, while U. S. crude rose 0. 4% to $91. 85 a barrel. That inflationary impulse raises the stakes for a key ​reading of US consumer prices this week, and is a major reason the European Central Bank is seen as certain ⁠to lift rates to 2. 75% on Thursday. Futures also imply a 75% chance of another hike to 3. 0% by December. The risk of hawkish guidance ​from the ECB after the rate hike kept European stocks on edge on Monday. EUROSTOXX 50 futures and DAX futures eased 0. 1%, while FTSE futures ​were flat. On Wall Street, a U. S. holiday kept turnover light with both S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures a fraction lower. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei rebounded 2. 0%, after ​losing a similar amount last week, while South Korea rallied 3. 0%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0. 9%.

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