Investor anxiety continued to grip the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday, extending a selling streak for a second straight session. This sustained pressure was attributed to geopolitical uncertainty, rising oil prices, and fresh conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The benchmark KSE-100 Index opened on a negative note, initially falling 900 points. By approximately 11:00 am, the index had plunged to its day’s lowest level of 165,347.40, shedding 1,153 points. Selling pressure was widespread across major sectors, including apparel, automobile assemblers, oil and gas exploration, power generation, cement, and commercial banks. Index-heavy stocks such as HUBCO, OGDC, PPL, PSO, HBL, MEBL, NBP, and UBL all traded negatively during intra-day activity.
Investor sentiment remained weak, despite Pakistan’s recent $250 million Panda Bond issuance in the Chinese capital market. Markets were particularly responsive to IMF warnings regarding regional exposure and persistent uncertainty from US-China discussions concerning the Iran conflict. According to media reports, the IMF has imposed 11 new structural benchmarks on Pakistan. These conditions encompass energy tariff adjustments, parliamentary approval of the FY27 budget, the phase-out of tax incentives for Special Economic Zones (SEZs), and reforms designed to strengthen the autonomy and transparency of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
The KSE-100 had also closed lower on Thursday, shedding 952.30 points (0.57%) to settle at 166,498.84 points. Analysts attributed this sustained volatility to unfolding US-Iran developments and elevated global oil prices, which collectively triggered broad-based selling in index-heavy sectors.
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