Summary PSX drops 4,197 points as Trump warns of continued Iran strikes; global markets also slide
KARACHI (Dunya News) – The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened lower on the fourth day of the week as investors reacted to US President Donald Trump’s warning of continued military action against Iran.
The KSE-100 index has plunged 4,197.45 points to reach 151,314.11 points, reflecting a negative change of 2.7 percent compared to previous close of 155,511.
During intraday trading, it also recorded a dip of over 5,000 points to hit as low as 150,022 points.
Meanwhile, global markets also recoiled as war jitters over Iran deepened, with stocks sliding, oil surging and the dollar firming after US President Donald Trump dashed hopes for clarity on when the Middle East conflict might end.
Trump said in a prime-time address that the U.S. would hit Iran "extremely hard" within weeks, claiming military goals were nearly achieved and the conflict was close to ending.
The front-month Brent contract for June jumped about 5% to $106.16 per barrel after investors found little reassurance in the speech, which failed to spell out when or how the Strait of Hormuz - a critical fuel shipping route - would reopen to ease supply disruptions hitting Asia hard.
US stock futures slid 1% while European futures sank over 1.5%. Asian stocks were clobbered, with Japan's Nikkei (.N225), opens new tab down 1.8% and South Korea's Kospi index (.KS11), opens new tab sliding 3.6%.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS), opens new tab was down over 1.5%, with almost all bourses in Asia in the red.
