PSX: KSE-100 down over 900 points amid political noise

Business Recorder reported that the Pakistan Stock Exchange came under pressure on Monday, with the KSE-100 index trading lower at 11am amid political uncertainty. At that hour the benchmark stood at 166,150.86, a decline of 938.41 points or 0.56 per cent. Sellers hit several key groups, including automobile assemblers, cement makers, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration firms, oil marketing companies and power generators.

Heavyweight stocks in the index, among them HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, POL, PSO, MCB, MEBL, NBP and UBL, were also trading in negative territory. The report noted that the index had already lost 1,066.20 points, or 0.6 per cent, over the previous week, closing at 167,089.28. That weekly slide came as US-Iran tensions, military clashes between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthi forces and wider regional security worries weighed on sentiment.

Overseas, Asian bourses opened cautiously as the upcoming earnings season raised doubts about lofty technology valuations, while oil prices moved erratically following attacks on Gulf shipping and airport facilities. Confusion also surrounded the energy truce President Trump had announced for Ukraine and Russia, which neither party had verified. Criticism from Republican and Democratic senators followed a Trump proposal for Russia to export more diesel, which some described as potentially illegal.