KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) fell sharply on Monday as cross-border tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan prompted broad-based selling across key sectors, traders and analysts said.
The benchmark KSE-100 index fell by 4,654.77 points, or 2.85 percent, to close at 158,443.42 points, compared to the weekend close of 163,098.19 points.
Muhammad Waqas Ghani, head of research at JS Global Capital Ltd, said the decline comes amid escalating tensions with Afghanistan after three-week bull run.
“The heightened geopolitical uncertainty has triggered broad-based selling across key sectors, including banking, energy and cement, as investors remain cautious,” he told Arab News.
Pakistan and Afghanistan exchanged cross-border fire over the weekend, leaving 23 Pakistani soldiers and more than 200 Afghan Taliban fighters dead, while several Afghan border posts were destroyed, according to the Pakistani military.
