Pakistani stocks closed lower on Monday as mounting concerns over geopolitical tensions between Iran and the U.S. remained high following last week’s assassination of a top Iranian military leader. The benchmark index, KSE-100 went down by 1000 points as investors opted to sell.
The index plunged to the negative zone right from the opening. At the end of the day, the benchmark KSE-100 Index closed 1027 points or -2.49% lower to settle at 41,296.
The US targeted and killed Iran military leader Qaseem Sulaimani in Baghdad which significantly raised geographical tensions and has created a war-like situation with major world leaders closely following the subsequent development.
US. President Donald Trump threatened to impose sanctions on Iraq and retaliate against Iran if Tehran strikes back after the killing of its top commander. His threat against Iraq comes after its parliament voted in favor of expelling U.S. troops.
These geo-political tensions made a huge impact on the stock markets around the world and the Pakistan Stock Exchange was one of them.
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the geopolitical and regional security concerns took a toll on market sentiment and investors resorted to selling. Moreover, Brent crude has reached $70 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate has climbed to $64.38 per barrel. Safe-haven assets popular in times of turmoil were also on the rise. Gold has surged to an all-time high in Pakistan as local one-tola and 10g gold prices have hit Rs. 93,400 and Rs. 80,075, respectively.
Overall, 266.63 million shares were traded today, while 200 million shares were traded in KSE-100. Shares of 345 companies were traded overall. At the end of the day, 30 stocks closed higher, 309 declined and 6 remained unchanged.
Although crude prices jumped significantly but didn’t take any positive impact on the stock market. The oil and gas marketing sector lost -3.66% from its cumulative market capitalization.
Top volume leaders of the day were
| SCRIP | PRICE | HIGH | LOW | CHANGE | VOLUME |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KEL | 4.53 | 4.75 | 4.4 | -.09 | 46,030,000 |
| UNITY | 15.59 | 16.29 | 15.59 | -1 | 17,565,500 |
| BOP | 11.48 | 11.8 | 11.35 | -.37 | 16,874,500 |
| TRG | 26.77 | 27.64 | 26.76 | -1.39 | 12,995,500 |
| FFL | 14.13 | 15.13 | 14.13 | -1 | 8,404,000 |
| ANL | 13.89 | 14.5 | 13.76 | -.24 | 6,478,000 |
| EPCL | 32.22 | 32.75 | 31.41 | -.84 | 6,372,500 |
