Summary PSX opens lower as Middle East tensions boost selling; KSE-100 drops 661 points to 152,247. Oil falls, Brent $107.17, WTI $93.46, on pause in U.S.-Iran attacks.
KARACHI (Dunya News) – Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened on a negative note on Friday as the escalating Middle East conflict has intensified selling pressure.
Till 9:45 am, the KSE-100 index shed 660.98 points to drop to 152,246.98 points, reflecting a negative change of 0.43% compared to previous close of 152,907.96 points.
Meanwhile, oil prices fell on Friday and were on track for the steepest weekly decline in six months after US President Donald Trump said talks to end the war with Iran were going well and that he would pause attacks on the country's energy plants for 10 days.
Brent futures fell 84 cents, or 0.8%, to $107.17 per barrel as of 0353 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures lost $1.02, or 1.1%, to $93.46 per barrel, trimming gains from a bullish previous session.
Both benchmarks were trading 4.6% lower on a weekly basis despite the Brent rising 5.7% and WTI gaining 4.6% on Thursday on fears of further escalation of the war.
A day earlier, the benchmark KSE-100 Index turned around to a strong bearish trend on Thursday, losing 5,405.48 points, a negative change of 3.41 percent, closing at 152,907.97 points compared to 158,313.45 points on the previous trading day, according to PSX data .
During the session, the ready market recorded a trading volume of 521.631 million shares with a traded value of Rs 27.138 billion, against 612.361 million shares valuing Rs 34.597 billion in the previous session.
Out of 484 active companies in the ready market, 71 advanced, 356 declined, and 57 remained unchanged.
