Islamabad – Pakistani equities dropped by more than 4,500 points on Wednesday, as investors grew anxious over escalating Middle East tensions and fresh attacks between the United States and Iran.
The KSE‑100 index slipped 4,626.19 points, a decline of 2.48%, closing at 181,629.36, down from 186,255.55 the previous day.
The sell‑off coincided with comments from US President Donald Trump, who declared the US‑Iran peace agreement “over” and signaled no intention to negotiate with Tehran. The interim cease‑fire brokered by Pakistan, which created a 60‑day window for a permanent settlement, faltered after indirect talks in Qatar concluded without agreement.
On Tuesday, the United States conducted another series of airstrikes against Iran in response to Tehran’s attack on three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
Ahsan Mehanti, chief executive of Arif Habib Commodities, told a news outlet that stocks declined across the board due to concerns that the US‑Iran peace deal had collapsed, as well as rising inflation and higher crude oil prices.
He added that the broader global equity sell‑off also contributed to the bearish sentiment at the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
Brokerage firm Topline Securities described the PSX as a “bloodbath,” attributing the panic‑driven selling to renewed Middle East geopolitical tensions.
Topline reported that investor sentiment turned sharply negative after President Trump said the Iran cease‑fire was effectively over, and after renewed US strikes reignited fears of a wider regional conflict.
The escalation also drove up international crude oil prices, further dampening sentiment and prompting a broad risk‑off move across markets.
Topline noted that United Bank Limited, Fauji Fertilizer, Engro Holdings, Lucky Cement, and Hub Power together accounted for about 1,528 points of the index decline.
World Call Telecom Limited (WTL) topped the volume leaders with 220 million shares changing hands; total trading volume rose to 1.551 billion shares, and the traded value reached Rs62.4 billion ($224.46 million).
