The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed volatile trading on Tuesday, with its benchmark KSE-100 Index swaying in both directions before closing the day lower by 254 points.
The KSE-100 started the session positive, hitting an intra-day high of 122,891.61.
However, the second-half witnessed selling pressure that pushed the index to an intra-day low of 121,815.39.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 121,971.04, down by 254.32 points or 0.21%.
“Amid growing geopolitical uncertainty surrounding tensions between Iran and Israel, investors opted to stay cautious, leading to a lack of clear direction throughout the session. Sentiment remained fragile as the market struggled to find firm footing,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.
On the upside, index-heavyweights UBL, HBL, SYS, and OGDC provided some support, jointly contributing 219 points. However, losses in PKGP, LUCK, ENGROH, and HUBC offset those gains, dragging the index down by a combined 291 points, Topline said.
In line with market expectations, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 11%.
The MPC noted that the increase in inflation in May to 3.5% year-on-year (y/y) was in line with its expectation, whereas core inflation declined marginally.
The PSX concluded Monday’s trading session with a mixed performance across its indices, reflecting a nuanced market sentiment.
While the benchmark KSE-100 Index managed a modest gain, broader market activity indicated a tug-of-war between bullish and bearish forces. The KSE-100 Index registered a fractional gain of 81.79 points, or 0.07%, to close at 122,225.36 points.
Internationally, US stock futures slipped and oil prices rose on Tuesday, as investors were rattled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for everyone to evacuate Tehran with the fifth-day of Israel-Iran fighting sowing fears of a broader regional conflict.
Markets were on edge after a separate report said that Trump had asked for the national security council to be prepared in the situation room as he cut short his visit to the Group of Seven summit in Canada.
Trump had earlier urged everyone to immediately evacuate Tehran, and reiterated that Iran should have signed a nuclear deal with the United States.
The latest developments sparked a wave of risk-off moves in early Asian trading. S&P 500 futures fell 0.46%, European futures slumped 0.69%, while crude prices, briefly jumped more than 2%.
Wall Street had closed higher on Monday after sources told Reuters that Iran was seeking a Trump-mediated immediate ceasefire with Israel, which also cooled a rally in crude prices.
The Iran-Israel air war – the biggest battle ever between the two longtime enemies – escalated on Monday with Israel targeting Iran’s state broadcaster and uranium enrichment facilities.
The heightened uncertainty and fluid Middle East situation bolstered investor moves towards traditional safe-haven assets such as gold which rose 0.5%, while a rise in U.S. Treasuries pushed yields lower across the curve.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year note was down about 2 basis points at 4.43%.
The dollar firmed against the euro, yen and sterling as it reprised its role as a safe asset even as it held to broadly tighter ranges.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was a tad higher, while futures tracking Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index were also marginally higher.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee registered marginal decline against the US dollar, depreciating 0.08% in the interbank market on Tuesday. At close, the local currency settled at 283.41, a loss of Re0.24 against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index decreased to 1,152.01 million from 1,224.18 million recorded in the previous close.
However, the value of shares increased to Rs27.98 billion from Rs25.75 billion in the previous session.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 239.76 million shares, followed by Pervez Ahmed Co with 97.49 million shares, and Sui South Gas with 49.86 million shares.
Shares of 473 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 193 registered an increase, 244 recorded a fall, while 36 remained unchanged.
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