Pakistan stocks plunge nearly 2,900 points as US-Iran peace talks postponed
The Pakistan Stock Exchange ended a four-session winning streak on Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index plunging nearly 2,900 points as uncertainty over postponed US-Iran peace talks rattled investor sentiment
The index initially opened on a positive note, climbing over 700 points to an intraday high of 182,185. However, the market reversed course sharply after 10:30am when news emerged that planned US-Iran negotiations in Switzerland had been called off, with Vice President JD Vance cancelling his travel plans.
Selling pressure intensified across key sectors, including banking, energy, cement, and automobile, dragging the KSE-100 to an intraday low of around 178,400 points. By the close of trading, the index had declined by 2,858.75 points, or 1.58 per cent, settling at 178,539.46.
Market activity remained robust, with approximately 600 million shares traded, valued at around Rs29 billion
Analysts attributed the sell-off to the postponement of the Geneva talks, which had been viewed as a critical next step in the peace framework established under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding signed earlier this week. Awais Ashraf, director of research at AKD Securities, also pointed to Israeli strikes on Lebanon following the peace deal as a factor shaking investor confidence.
The decline came in contrast to analyst expectations, who had anticipated the market would sustain its positive momentum on easing geopolitical tensions and stable monetary policy. The market had rallied strongly on Thursday, gaining 887 points to close at 181,398 on lower international crude prices and optimism over the US-Iran peace process.