ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s benchmark KSE-100 index fell 0.73 percent on a week-on-week basis, as escalating tensions in the Middle East pushed up global energy prices and weighed on investor sentiment, a brokerage report said in a weekly report.
The decline comes as conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran intensifies, raising concerns over oil supply disruptions and higher import costs for energy-dependent economies like Pakistan. Rising global crude prices typically feed into domestic inflation and widen external financing pressures, making equities less attractive.
The sell-off also coincided with tighter financial conditions at home, where government bond yields rose sharply during the week, reflecting expectations of sustained monetary pressure despite some improvement in macroeconomic indicators.
“KSE 100 Index declined by -0.73 percent on WoW basis, this weekly decline can be attributed to further escalation of Middle East conflict (US-Israel vs. Iran) and its resulting impact in energy prices,” Topline Securities Ltd. said in its weekly review dated March 19.
Despite the market decline, Pakistan’s external account showed signs of improvement, with the country posting a current account surplus of $427 million in February, compared to a surplus of $68 million in January, according to the report.
