The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained under the grip of selling pressure amid geopolitical volatility and an increase in international oil prices, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding over 2,200 points during the opening hours of trading on Friday.
At 9:25am, the benchmark index was hovering at 149,780.66, down by 2,230.60 points or 1.47%.
Selling was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks and fertiliser. Index-heavy stocks, including LUCK, HBL, MCB, MEBL, NBP, ENGRO and FFC, traded in the red.
On Thursday, PSX came under renewed selling pressure as negative global cues triggered broad-based liquidation, dragging benchmark indices sharply lower and eroding a significant portion of the previous session’s gains. The benchmark KSE-100 Index closed at 152,011.26 points, down 3,500.30 points (2.25%).
The federal government on Thursday hiked petrol by 43% and diesel by 55%, marking a record increase; however, a temporary three-month subsidy remains in place to safeguard the lower and middle-income groups.
Speaking at a press conference alongside Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik announced Rs137.23 per litre increase in petrol price and Rs184.49 per litre increase in High Speed Diesel (HSD) price following a surge in global oil prices due to the US-Israel war in Iran.
This is an intra-day update
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