KARACHI – The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) registered massive losses on first day of the new business week following the US’s weekend move to join Israel in targeting Iranian nuclear facilities.
During intraday trading, the KSE-100 benchmark has plunged 1715 points to drop to 118,307.40 points, with a negative change of 1.19 percent.
US President Donald Trump, in a statement, said he had “obliterated” the main nuclear sites of Iran in weekend strikes, further escalating the Middle East tensions that have made the investors cautious.
Furthermore, the investors are anxiously waiting to see if Iran would retaliate against US strikes on its nuclear facilities.
In its previous session on Friday, the 100-Index had witnessed a bullish trend gaining 20.65 points, a positive change of 0.02 percent, and closing at 120,023.24 points.
A total of 421,643,224 shares were traded during the day whereas the price of shares stood at Rs 15.651 billion.
As many as 468 companies had transacted their shares in the stock market, 178 of them recorded gains and 245 sustained losses, whereas the share price of 45 companies remained unchanged.
Pakistan Condemns US Attacks on Iran
Meanwhile, Pakistan has condemned the US attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities which follow the series of attacks by Israel.
In a statement issued in Islamabad today, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Shafqat Ali Khan, said Pakistan is gravely concerned at the possible further escalation of tensions in the region.
He said Pakistan reiterates that these attacks violate all norms of international law and that Iran has the legitimate right to defend itself under the UN Charter.
The spokesperson said the unprecedented escalation of tension and violence, owing to ongoing aggression against Iran is deeply disturbing. He said any further escalation of tensions will have severely damaging implications for the region and beyond.
Shafqat Ali Khan emphasizes that the imperative needs to respect civilian lives and properties and immediately bring the conflict to end. He said all the parties must adhere to international law, particularly international humanitarian law.
He said recourse to dialogue, diplomacy, in line with the principles and purposes of the UN Charter remains the only viable pathway to resolve the crises in the region.
