KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a sharp sell-off on Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index falling more than 1,700 points during intraday trading as investor sentiment weakened following uncertainty surrounding planned talks between the United States and Iran.
The market had entered the session on a positive note after four consecutive days of gains driven by optimism over easing geopolitical tensions and lower oil prices following the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Washington and Tehran.
Early buying pushed the KSE-100 Index to an intraday high of 182,185.87 points at 10:14am. However, the upward momentum proved short-lived, with the benchmark index turning negative shortly after 10:30am as selling pressure intensified across major sectors.
At 12:03pm, the KSE-100 Index had dropped 2,858.75 points, or 1.58 per cent, to 178,539.46 points, compared to the previous session’s close of 181,398.21.
Although the market later recovered part of its losses, the index remained significantly in the red. By 2:53pm, it was still down 1,742.96 points, reflecting continued caution among investors.
Market participants linked the decline to the postponement of a scheduled US-Iran meeting in Geneva, which had been expected to initiate technical discussions under the broader peace framework outlined in the Islamabad MoU.
Awais Ashraf, Director Research at AKD Securities, said the cancellation of the talks had unsettled investors who viewed the meeting as an important step towards reducing regional uncertainty.
“The postponement has shaken investor confidence, particularly after recent optimism surrounding the peace process,” he noted.
The sharp reversal came despite expectations among analysts that the market would maintain its bullish momentum, supported by easing geopolitical risks, stable monetary conditions and improving investor sentiment.
The PSX had rallied strongly in recent sessions, making Friday’s decline one of the most notable pullbacks during the ongoing recovery trend.