KARACHI:

Selling pressure gripped the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index trading at 171,051.86, down 63.96 points, or 0.04%, at 1:54pm, indicating continued volatility in market sentiment. The index plunged 1,433.57 points, or 0.84%, to 169,682.25 at 9:34am, shortly after trading commenced amid broad-based selling in heavyweight sectors.

Staging a partial recovery, however, the benchmark index trimmed losses to 170,198.62, down 917.20 points (-0.54%) at 9:44am, while further improving to 170,249.17, down 866.65 points (-0.51%) at 9:59am. Pressure re-emerged later in the morning, dragging the index to 170,030.20, down 1,085.62 points (-0.63%) at 10:04am.

The benchmark index briefly returned to green territory around midday, supported by selective value buying and improved investor sentiment, before profit-taking resurfaced.

Read: PSX jumps 5% on US-Iran peace hopes

Selling was witnessed in key sectors including cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation stocks, as investor sentiment remained fragile due to prevailing uncertainty over a possible peace deal between Iran and the United States.

Market activity remained volatile throughout the session, with the benchmark index touching an intra-day high of 171,304.10 and a low of 169,583.44. The market recorded a traded volume of 322.08 million shares, while the total traded value stood at Rs12.62 billion against previous close of the index recorded at 171,115.82.

In a notable development, remittances to Pakistan recorded an inflow of $3.5 billion during April 2026, reflecting an increase of 11.4% year-on-year, although declining 7.6% on a month-on-month basis, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan.