PSX Closing Bell: Deep Red

Mettis Global reported a steep sell-off on the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Tuesday, with the KSE-100 index closing 2,546.94 points lower, or 1.41 per cent, at 177,955.50. The benchmark had reached an intraday high of 180,602.44 before sliding to a low of 177,866.04. Only 13 of the 100 index companies finished higher, while 86 ended the session in negative territory.

Mettis Global attributed the sell-off to renewed political uncertainty and higher oil prices, after the Supreme Court directed that jailed PTI founder Imran Khan be moved to Shifa International Hospital for medical checks and care. Crude prices also rose after expectations of a durable settlement in the Iran-US confrontation faded, unsettling traders over supplies moving through key sea routes. Together these developments weighed on sentiment, and the All-Share Index also fell 1,447.05 points, or 1.33 per cent, to close at 107,760.08.

Index losses were concentrated in UBL, FFC, MEBL, ENGROH and OGDC, while NBP and SSGC provided the most support. Commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, fertilizer and cement were the heaviest sector drags on the index. KSE-100 volume reached 511.87 million shares, while market-wide traded value came to Rs50.74 billion from 565,220 trades.