Summary Pakistan Stock Exchange fell sharply on Thursday, with KSE-100 dropping 3,162 points as Middle East tensions spooked investors; global stocks also slid and oil prices surged
KARACHI (Dunya News) – The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw a sharp decline on Thursday as rising tensions in the Middle East prompted investor caution.
During intraday trading, the KSE-100 plunged by 3,162.40 points to drop by 151,129.85, reflecting a negative change of 2.05 percent compared to previous close of 154,292.25 points.
On global front, stocks slid and oil prices rose sharply after major escalation in the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran rattled investors, while the yen wobbled near the crucial 160 per dollar level as Japan's central bank left interest rates unchanged.
As widely expected, the Bank of Japan left unchanged its short-term policy rate at 0.75% but joined the U.S. Federal Reserve and Bank of Canada in striking a cautious tone about the impact of rising oil costs from the conflict on inflation.
In stocks, Japan's Nikkei (.N225) was down 2.5%, while South Korean equities (.KS11) fell 1.5%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) fell more than 1.5%. European futures were down more than 1%.
A day earlier, the benchmark KSE-100 Index witnessed bullish trend on Wednesday, gaining 4,276.09 points, a positive change of 2.85 percent, closing at 154,292.26 points compared to 150,016.16 points on the previous trading day, according to PSX data.
During the session, the ready market recorded a trading volume of 397.465 million shares with a traded value of Rs 22.352 billion, against 260.428 million shares valuing Rs 17.205 billion in the previous session. Market capitalization increased to Rs 17.254 trillion from Rs 16.793 trillion a day earlier.
Out of 483 active companies in the ready market, 339 advanced, 79 declined, and 65 remained unchanged.
