KSE-100 falls over 1,300 points as oil prices and rate fears weigh
Selling pressure persisted at the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding more than 1,300 points in the first half of trading. At 12pm the index stood at 162,589.30, down 1,335.01 points or 0.81%, according to an intraday update.
Sana Tawfik, Head of Research at Arif Habib Limited, attributed the decline to two factors: weakness in global markets amid higher oil prices, and cautious sentiment ahead of Monday's monetary policy decision amid expectations of a rate hike. The source did not specify the size of any expected increase.
Selling was broad-based across key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies, power generation and refineries. Index-heavy stocks including ARL, HUBCO, MARI, PPL, POL, MCB, MEBL, NBP and UBL traded in the red.
The decline extends Thursday's losses, when the KSE-100 fell 2,006.67 points, or 1.21%, to close at 163,924.32, as persistent geopolitical uncertainty and rising international oil prices weighed on sentiment in the absence of positive triggers.
Asian equities were weaker on Friday, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan down 0.3% and heading for a fourth consecutive weekly loss. The source linked the regional mood to concerns over the funding needs of artificial intelligence investment and to markets paring back expectations of further Federal Reserve tightening.
