Selling intensifies at PSX as Middle East tensions escalate

Selling pressure persisted at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as escalating tensions in the Middle East took their toll on investor sentiments, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding over 1,800 points during the opening minutes of trading on Friday. At 9:48am, the benchmark index was hovering at 169,885.48, down by 1,853.96 points or 1.08%. Selling was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, ARL, MARI, OGDC, PPL, HBL, MCB, MEBL and NBP, traded in the red.