PSX slides more than 1,330 points amid Saudi Arabia-Houthi conflict

KSE-100 hits 162,589 by Friday prayers as Brent trades near multi-month highs

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained under pressure through the first half of Friday’s session, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index sliding 1,335.01 points, or 0.81%, to 162,589.30 by the Friday prayers break, according to PSX data.

The index had opened near 163,869 and briefly touched an intraday high of 163,966.86 before sellers gained control, pushing it to a low of 162,407.61. It closed the previous session at 163,924.31.

Selling was visible across major sectors, including commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies, power generation, cement, automobile assemblers and refineries. Index heavyweights such as HUBC, PPL, POL, UBL, MCB and others traded lower, extending the broad-based weakness seen the previous day.

Activity in the regular market stood at 144,593 trades, with volume of 159.1 million shares and a traded value of roughly Rs7.66 billion by the break.

Read: PSX falls below 164,000 on oil fears

Year-to-date, the KSE-100 remains 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.

Market participants attributed the continued weakness to the same factors that drove Thursday’s sharp decline 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 inflation outlook, keeping investors cautious in the absence of strong positive triggers.

Analysts noted that while the session remains open for the 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.