PSX tumbles over 2,400 points on back of uncertainty over US-Iran talks

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 index tumbled by over 2,400 points on Friday, breaking itsfour-daybullish spree.

Falling oil prices following thesigningof the ‘Islamabad MoU’ between the United States. Iran had fueled optimism, triggering buying interest across multiple sectors. As a result, the KSE-100 index had maintained its recovery for the fourth straight session on Thursday.

On Friday, initial positive momentum pushed KSE-100 to an intraday high of 182,185.87 points at 10:14am. However, the market declined almost steadily after 10:30am until it regained some points later.

The KSE-100 index declined by 2,858.75 points (1.58 per cent) to stand at 178,539.46 at 12:03pm.

After hitting an intraday low of 177,836.16 at 2:34pm, it reversed some of its losses. closed at 178,922.75, down by 2,475.46 (1.36pc) from the previous close of 181,398.21.

The downward trend followed thepostponementof the planned US-Iran talks in Geneva. which were seen as a key step in the peace framework under the Islamabad MoU.

Awais Ashraf, director of research at AKD Securities, noted that the cancellation of the meeting, which was scheduled to initiate technical discussions between US. Iranian delegations, has “shaken investor confidence”.

The decline comes in contrast to the expectations of analysts. who had anticipated that the market would likely sustain its positive momentum, buoyed by easing geopolitical tensions andstable monetary policy.