The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) endured a bruising start to the week on Monday, as political upheaval in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and mounting geopolitical anxieties kept investors on edge, driving the benchmark index deep into the red. The KSE-100 Index remained volatile throughout the session before shedding 1,964.87 points, or 1.18%, to settle at 165,124.41.
The imposition of governor’s rule and emergency measures in parts of K-P, followed by reports of police crackdown, added to the political clamour, stoking fears of further unrest.
Selling pressure swept across oil marketing companies, automobile assemblers, cement, power, commercial banks and oil and gas exploration companies, reflecting the broad-based weakness in market sentiment.
In the international market, oil prices eased on expectations of increased Russian supplies after United States President Donald Trump said Ukraine and Russia had agreed to halt attacks on each other’s energy facilities following a US diesel-supply deal with Moscow. However, the relief was tempered by fears of a wider regional conflict after a Houthi attack on Riyadh’s international airport, leaving investors wary amid an already unsettled geopolitical landscape.
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Talking to The Express Tribune, Fawad Basir, head of research at KTrade, attributed the market’s weakness to geopolitical uncertainty and heightened tensions in K-P. He said while June 2026 corporate results in the listed space were better than expected, higher commodity prices were keeping inflation elevated despite the base effect, potentially influencing this month’s monetary policy decision.
At the same time, exchange rate parity and interest rates remained key concerns amid the Middle East crisis and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) tranche review, Basir added.
In their report, KTrade mentioned that selling pressure was broad-based across commercial banks, oil and gas, cement and technology stocks. Oil and Gas Development Company, Habib Bank, Meezan Bank, and Lucky Cement were among the major laggards.
Going forward, market direction is likely to remain volatile, hinging on geopolitical developments and oil prices, with sustained easing in crude prices and progress in US-Iran engagement potentially supporting equities, while further regional escalation could extend the bearish trend, KTrade forecasted.
Overall, trading volume increased to 362.9 million shares from Friday’s close of 309.4 million shares while the value of traded shares stood at Rs14.50 billion. In the ready market, shares of 500 companies were traded, of which 135 stocks closed higher, 322 fell and 43 remained unchanged.
Treet Corporation was the volume leader with trading in 27.4 million shares, gainng Rs0.37 to close at Rs24.09.
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