PSX: selling continues, KSE-100 down over 1,200 points in early trade

Selling pressure persisted on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday as tensions escalated between global crude exporters and Yemen's Houthi rebels. The KSE-100 Index plummeted over 1,200 points during the opening bell, settling at 162,683.08 points, a decline of 1,241.23 points or 0.76%. Shares of sectors such as automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration firms, OMCs, power generation companies, and refineries faced selling pressure.

Notable index constituents like ARL, HUBCO, MARI, PPL, POL, MCB, MEBL, NBP, and UBL were among the losers on the day.

Prior to this, the PSX had also slipped on Thursday due to sustained geopolitical uncertainty, surging international oil prices, and the lack of positive catalysts to bolster investor confidence. The benchmark KSE-100 Index took a nosedive of 2,006.67 points, or 1.21%, closing at 163,924.32 points. Globally, Asian equities took a hit on Friday as worries over the massive capital demands of artificial intelligence technology weighed on the tech sector, prompting investors to flock to risk-free assets like sovereign bonds and safe-haven currencies.

The Federal Reserve's expectations of additional rate hikes for the upcoming year also took a hit, with the probability of an 85 basis point increase in December dropping to 85%.

MSCI's Asia-Pacific index, excluding Japan, experienced a decline of 0.3% on Friday, causing the weekly loss to reach 2.7% and marking a fourth consecutive week of losses. Japan's Nikkei and South Korea's KOSPI both saw declines of 1.3% and 1.7%, respectively, with SK Hynix, a leading memory chipmaker in Taiwan, shedding 2.5% on the day.

Meanwhile, mainland China's blue-chip index plummeted by 1.1%, marking its lowest point since July 2025, and was down approximately 20% from its late June peak. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index edged up by 0.1% after sliding 3% on Thursday.