The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed sharp volatility on Monday, highlighting its heightened vulnerability to regional shocks amid prevailing macroeconomic uncertainty. A sense of nervousness prevailed from the start of the trading, as investors reacted to Pakistan’s ongoing diplomatic efforts in Middle East de-escalation, which, along with rising global oil prices, fuelled uncertainty in the market.
As a result, strong selling pressure drove the benchmark index harshly lower in early trading, pushing it down 668.16 points by 11.29am. The decline moderated later, with the index reaching 146,937.37 at 12.09pm, down 4,770.14 points (-3.14%).
During the session, the index swung between a high of 151,813.61 and a low of 144,656.97, reflecting the extent of instability. Ultimately, at the close of trading, the benchmark KSE-100 index tumbled down 4,864.54 points, or 3.21% and settled at 146,842.97.