Pakistan stocks remained under heavy pressure on Monday afternoon as investors reacted to growing geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East, sending the benchmark KSE-100 Index sharply lower.
By 1:59pm, the Pakistan Stock Exchange’s benchmark index had fallen 1,776.82 points, or 1.04 percent, to 168,702.12. Earlier in the session, the market dropped over1,900 points as selling intensified across several major sectors.
The index traded between an intraday high of 169,360.54 and a low of 168,432.45, reflecting the nervous mood among investors. Despite the latest decline, the KSE-100 remains up 38.25 percent from a year ago, though it is down 3.08 percent since the start of 2026.
Selling was visible across many of the market’s heavyweight sectors, including commercial banks, cement, automobile assemblers, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing firms, refineries and power producers. Major index movers such as Mari Energies, Oil & Gas Development Company, Pakistan Petroleum, Pakistan Oilfields, Pakistan State Oil, MCB Bank, Meezan Bank, Attock Refinery and Hub Power traded in negative territory.
Market participants said investors remained cautious as concerns over the worsening situation between the United States and Iran continued to weigh on sentiment. The uncertainty comes after a difficult week for local equities, during which the KSE-100 Index lost nearly 3,500 points and closed at 170,478.94 points.
Among actively traded shares, TPL Properties, TPL Corp, Waves Home Appliances, Pace Pakistan and Pakistan Qatar General Takaful attracted investor interest and recorded gains. On the other hand, WorldCall Telecom and several other stocks remained under pressure.
Some of the strongest gains in the market were seen in GUSM, STML, NAGC, ZUMA and SGPL, which climbed around 10 percent each. Meanwhile, ANLNV, IDSM, RUBY NC and ELCM ranked among the biggest losers of the session.
The cautious mood was not limited to Pakistan. Equity markets across Asia also suffered steep losses as investors moved away from technology and artificial intelligence-linked stocks while monitoring developments in the Middle East. South Korea’s KOSPI dropped around 5 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei and Taiwan’s benchmark index also posted sharp declines.
Oil prices added to market concerns, with Brent crude rising to around $96 per barrel after reports of fresh military activity involving Iran. Higher oil prices and fears of broader regional instability have increased uncertainty for investors worldwide, contributing to risk-off trading across global markets.
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