Selling at bourse as stalled Iran-US talks dent sentiments

Selling pressure was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding nearly 1,200 points during the opening minutes of trading on Monday. At 9:34am, the benchmark index was hovering at 169,472.94, a decrease of 1,199.10 points or 0.70%. Selling was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies and OMCs. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, OGDC, PPL, PSO, MCB, MEBL and UBL, traded in the red. “The sentiment remains cautious as investors weigh a weekend of heavy diplomatic and economic news,” said Behtari Capital. During the previous week, Pakistan’s stock market remained under pressure, as persistent geopolitical uncertainty surrounding US-Iran ceasefire negotiations, elevated global oil prices, additional IMF-linked policy concerns and domestic energy shortages combined to dampen investor sentiment.