KARACHI: The start of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s much-hyped march, after talks with the government collapsed, rattled the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday.

Amid uncertainty, jittery investors rushed to sell, driving market capitalisation down by a staggering Rs261 billion in a single session. Persistent geopolitical tensions and elevated oil prices also threatened economic stability.

Topline Securities Ltd said the KSE-100 index recorded a sharp sell-off, hitting an intraday low of 2,391 points at 165,764.21 before closing at 165,867.32, down 2,288.17 points or 1.36 per cent in the first session of the week.

The decline was primarily driven by a lack of fresh positive catalysts, while renewed political uncertainty weighed on investor sentiment. The opposition’s march began after government-opposition talks failed to reach an agreement, raising concerns about further political disruption.

KSE-100 index sheds 2,288 points on hasty selling

Meanwhile, international crude oil prices remained a key concern, adding to macroeconomic uncertainty and keeping investors cautious. In the absence of strong market catalysts, investors trimmed positions, leading to broad-based selling across the market.

Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd, said the index extended last week’s decline amid heightened regional and domestic political uncertainty and elevated oil prices, triggering risk aversion and selling across key sectors, and breaching the 166,000 level, a key support.

Moreover, Yemen launched a military campaign against Houthi-held territory amid escalating regional tensions.

On the sectoral front, cement despatches rose 6pc year on year to 4.62m tonnes in September, driven by stronger domestic demand. 1QFY27 despatches increased 4pc to 13.14m tonnes.

PTI began a march toward Islamabad after talks with the government broke down over demands including access to Imran Khan, while authorities blocked key routes.

On the index contribution front, United Bank, Engro Holdings, Habib Bank, Hub Power, Pakistan Petroleum, Oil and Gas Development Company, Fauji Fertiliser, National Bank, Pakistan Stock Exchange and Bank Al-Habib dragged the index down by 1,114 points.

Investor participation weakened as trading volume fell 10.53pc to 441.89 million shares and turnover value dipped 10.18pc to Rs15.7bn. First National Equities Ltd led the volume chart with 50.2m shares.

Analysts expect the equities market to remain volatile and range-bound amid heightened geopolitical and domestic political uncertainty. Elevated oil prices continue to threaten external balances, fuel inflation, and pressure corporate margins. However, positive developments in local or regional politics could support market momentum in the near term.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2026