Daily Times

On Monday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) experienced a bloodbath, as the benchmark KSE-100 Index plunged about 1,300 points following the global equities markets’ downward trend.

KSE-100 dropped 1,284.38 points or 2.88 percent to 43,266.97 points by the time of the market’s close. It had already fallen as low as 43,049.41 during the day.

Stocks fell in panic selling as oil prices rose more than 9pc, reaching their highest level since 2008, as US and European allies consider a Russian oil import restriction and delays in the possible return of Iranian crude to global markets.

Prices for Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil in the United States rose by an average of $10.41 and 9.1 percent respectively to hit $130.72 and $126.01 respectively earlier in the day.

While gold and palladium prices surged in response to the Russia-Ukraine crisis, investors flocked to gold as a safe haven, while supply disruption fears pushed palladium to an all-time high.

As the US and EU have asked for a restriction on Russian oil imports, the market is reacting to the rise in oil prices. Iran’s ongoing talks with the US could bring in some Iranian oil into the market, which could help fill up some of Russia’s oil supply shortfall, he said.

The entrance of Iranian oil on the market, however, would be delayed by a few months due to supply bottlenecks and an increase in Iranian production capacity, according to Umer.

Iran’s crude oil exports have dropped from 2.5 million barrels per day before the imposition of additional sanctions in 2018 to between 0.6 and 0.8 million barrels per day as reported by Ismail Iqbal Securities.

Nevertheless, it has not been determined how quickly the country will be able to return to its pre-sanctions export levels. A tight oil supply is predicted in the near future due to these factors.

There may be a brief break from the Ukraine war, but sanctions against Russia will likely remain in place for now, according to this report.

Equities also fell as a result of the revelation, with a sea of red seen at stocks around the world.

At one time, Hong Kong lost more than 4pc of its value, while Tokyo and Taipei were both down more than 3 percent.

Seoul and Manila were both down more than 2pc, while Shanghai, Sydney, and Wellington were all down more than 1 percent.