KSE-100 falls 1,335.01 points as oil price surge linked to Saudi Arabia-Houthi fighting weighs on sentiment

The Pakistan Stock Exchange remained under pressure through the first half of Friday's session, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index falling 1,335.01 points, or 0.81%, to 162,589.30 by the Friday prayers break, according to PSX data. The index opened near 163,869 and briefly touched an intraday high of 163,966.86 before sellers took control and pushed it to a low of 162,407.61. It had closed the previous session at 163,924.31.

Selling was broad-based, spanning commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies, power generation, cement, automobile assemblers and refineries. Index heavyweights including HUBC, PPL, POL, UBL and MCB traded lower, extending the weakness seen the previous day. Activity in the regular market stood at 144,593 trades, with volume of 159.1 million shares and traded value of roughly Rs7.66 billion by the break.

Market participants attributed the continued decline to the factors behind Thursday's fall of more than 2,000 points. Intensified fighting between Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude exporter, and Yemen-based Houthis has lifted international oil prices, with Brent trading near multi-month highs around $113-114. Higher energy costs raise concerns over Pakistan's import bill, external account pressures and the inflation outlook, keeping investors cautious in the absence of strong positive triggers.

Year-to-date the KSE-100 is down 6.59%, while the one-year change stands at a negative 1.22%. The 52-week range is 144,119.44 to 191,032.73.

Analysts noted that with the session still open for its second half, the combination of elevated oil prices and regional uncertainty is likely to keep sentiment fragile unless fresh positive developments emerge. Investors will also watch how global markets and commodity prices evolve into the weekend.