Geopolitical uncertainty rattles investor confidence on Wednesday, triggering a sharp sell-off at the Pakistan Stock Exchange. The KSE-100 Index plummeted nearly 2,500 points during opening minutes.
The market opened weakly, with widespread selling across key sectors dragging the benchmark index to an intraday low of 183,758.85 points, down 2,496.70 points (1.34%). By midday, the KSE-100 Index stood at 184,421.56, down 1,833.99 points or 0.98%.
During the session, trading activity remained robust with 175.31 million shares changing hands and a total traded value of approximately Rs15.50 billion.
The downturn resulted from investors reacting to geopolitical shocks that prompted them to reduce exposure to equities. This led to broad-based selling across major sectors such as oil and gas exploration, commercial banks, fertilizers, cement, and power stocks. Market participants noted that investors were closely monitoring developments in the Middle East, fearing further escalation could increase volatility in global oil prices, inflation expectations, and regional financial markets, keeping sentiment cautious for the remainder of the trading session.