PSX: Selling continues as KSE-100 sheds nearly 400 points

Investors kept selling on the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Wednesday, pushing the KSE-100 index down nearly 400 points amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, according to Business Recorder. At 10:05am the benchmark stood at 168,994.54, down 397.78 points or 0.23 per cent. Weakness spread across carmakers, cement producers, commercial banks, oil and gas explorers and oil marketing firms.

Index heavyweights OGDC, PPL, PSO, HBL, MCB and NBP were also in the red during the session. The benchmark had rallied strongly on Tuesday after the State Bank of Pakistan kept its policy rate unchanged at 11.50 per cent, closing at 169,392.33 points with a gain of 1,421.67 points.

Regional equities edged up in the early Asian session as higher global bond yields and crude prices stalled before the Fed announced its latest policy call. The US 10-year Treasury yield stood at 4.9875% in Asian trade, having risen above 5% on Tuesday, a level it had not touched in three years. According to CME Group's FedWatch tool, traders priced in a 92.4% chance of a 25-basis-point Fed rate hike, up from 59.4% a week earlier.