KSE-100 plunges over 3,000 points as oil surge, US-Iran tensions rattle market

• Local bourse loses 3,078 points.
• Index closes at 168,865 points.
• Oil futures rose as much as 1.5%.

The local bourse came under heavy selling pressure on Thursday as renewed US-Iran attacks shattered investor confidence, while a sharp surge in international oil prices further amplified concerns over inflation, the external account, and overall macroeconomic stability.

The KSE-100 Index plunged 3,078 points (-1.79%) to close at 168,865, after hitting 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 further intensified the pressure, as investors aggressively trimmed positions amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty and fears of a prolonged disruption in global oil markets.

Market participation remained active, with total traded volume reaching 628 million shares, while traded value stood at approximately Rs27 billion.

Oil futures rose as much as 1.5% to $102.72 a barrel as 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.

Adding to inflation worries ahead of the European winter, prices for refined fuels such as heating oil and natural gas also surged.

Iran said it had attacked 10 ships near the waterway on Wednesday after the US sank five Iranian oil tankers, the latest in a series of tit-for-tat strikes that have signalled scant chance of an imminent end to hostilities.

In recent weeks Washington had cited increasing success guiding tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, which carried about a fifth of global oil supplies before the war. 

But a resumption of fighting this month appears to have set back any such gradual reopening. Just seven vessels transited the strait on Wednesday, half the 10-day average, preliminary ship-tracking data showed on Thursday.