The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) faced a steep decline on Friday as global market volatility and tariff tensions rattled investor confidence. The KSE-100 Index dropped by 1,335.88 points in the latter half of the trading day, closing at 114,853.33 — a 1.15% decrease.
Major sectors bore the brunt of the selling pressure, including auto assemblers, commercial banks, oil and gas explorers, OMCs, power producers, and refineries. Key stocks like MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, PSO, SNGPL, HUBCO, MEBL, NBP, and MCB ended the day in negative territory.
Globally, financial markets were hit hard on Friday amid rising fears of a recession, triggered by escalating tariff conflicts. The bond market also saw a sharp selloff, capping a turbulent week. The dollar weakened, while investors flocked to safe-haven assets, pushing the Swiss franc to a decade-high against the dollar and gold prices to all-time highs. This came shortly after a short-lived market boost following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement to ease tariffs on certain countries.
