Karachi, September 10, 2026: The Pakistan Stock Exchange came under heavy selling pressure on Thursday as renewed US-Iran attacks rattled investor confidence, while a sharp rise in international oil prices heightened concerns over inflation, the external account and overall macroeconomic stability.
The KSE-100 Index plunged 3,078 points, or 1.79%, to close at 168,865 after touching an intraday low of 3,471 points, reflecting broad-based risk-off sentiment across the market.
According to Topline Securities, selling by local institutional investors intensified the pressure as investors aggressively trimmed their positions amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty and fears of a prolonged disruption in global oil supplies.
Market activity remained strong, with total traded volume reaching 628 million shares, while the value of shares traded stood at around Rs27 billion.
International oil prices also surged amid growing concerns over energy supplies. Oil futures rose as much as 1.5% to $102.72 a barrel after energy flows from the Gulf slowed sharply following the biggest wave of attacks on shipping by Iran and the United States since the start of their war.
Prices of refined fuels, including heating oil and natural gas, also rose sharply, adding to inflationary concerns ahead of the European winter.
Iran said it had attacked 10 ships near the waterway on Wednesday after the United States sank five Iranian oil tankers, in the latest exchange of attacks that has further reduced hopes of an imminent end to hostilities.
In recent weeks, Washington had pointed to increasing success in guiding tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway that carried around a fifth of global oil supplies before the war.
However, the latest escalation appears to have disrupted efforts to gradually reopen the route. Preliminary ship-tracking data showed that only seven vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, half the 10-day average, according to data released on Thursday.
