KARACHI: The stock market suffered mild losses on Tuesday as jittery investors opted to take profits amid rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Ahsan Mehanti from Arif Habib Corporation reported that stocks closed lower due to a decline in global equities, driven by geopolitical uncertainty and the State Bank of Pakistan’s decision to maintain the key policy rate amid inflationary pressures from the Israel-Iran conflict.

He stated that the weakening rupee, due to tensions in the Middle East and rising imports, led to a bearish close at the PSX.

According to brokerage Topline Securities, the Pakistan Stock Exchange witnessed a volatile session, closely tracking global market cues. The benchmark index oscillated within a wide range—touching an intraday high of 666 points and a low of 409 points—before settling at 121,971.04 level, down 254.32 points or 0.21 per cent.

Amid growing regional uncertainty, investors remained cautious, resulting in a lack of clear direction throughout the session. Sentiment remained fragile as the market struggled to find firm footing.

High-level tariff negotiations took place between Pakistan and the United States, with both sides expressing their commitment to expediting a trade agreement.

Ali Najib, the Deputy Head of Trading at AHL, noted that the external account faced pressure in May, as a current account deficit of $103 million was recorded, compared to a surplus of $47 million in April.

Market participation slightly weakened as trading volume fell 5.89pc to 1.15 billion shares, while the traded value rose 8.67pc to Rs27.98 billion on a day-on-day basis. WorldCall Telecom topped the volume charts with a remarkable 239 million shares.

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2025