Selling pressure was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index losing nearly 1,000 points during the opening minutes of trading on Wednesday.
At 10:35am, the benchmark index was hovering at 132,419.08 level, a decrease of 984.11 points or 0.74%.
Selling was seen in key sectors including commercial banks, fertilizer, oil and gas exploration companies and refinery. Index-heavy stocks including ARL, NRL, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, MCB, MEBL and UBL traded in the red.
On Tuesday, the PSX witnessed a volatile trading session as the market swung sharply between gains and losses before settling almost flat at 133,403.19 points, a modest increase of 33 points or 0.02%.
Globally, the US dollar traded close to a 2-1/2-week high versus major peers on Wednesday while copper hit an all-time peak overnight after US President Donald Trump broadened his global trade war by threatening a 50% tariff on the metal.
Trump also said levies on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals were coming soon, weighing on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures indicating further weakness there on Wednesday.
However, stock markets around the Asia-Pacific were mixed, as investors digested Trump’s latest, shifting trade salvos. Japan and South Korea are among major U.S. trading partners in the region facing an August 1 deadline to reach a trade deal or be subjected to new tariff rates, although Trump has sent mixed signals on how flexible that date is.
On Monday, Trump said it was “firm, but not 100% firm,” reinforcing the view among some in markets that the deadlines are a negotiating tactic that the US president will ultimately back away from. On Tuesday though, Trump appeared to harden his stance by saying, “No extensions will be granted.”
Japan’s Nikkei edged down 0.2%, shedding early small gains. Australia’s stock index declined 0.4%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.9%.
At the same time, mainland Chinese blue chips rose 0.2%, and South Korea’s KOSPI climbed 0.5%.
US S&P 500 futures eased 0.1%, following a 0.1% loss for the cash index on Tuesday that extended the 0.8% drop that started the week.
This is an intra-day update
