PSX falls over 1,000 points early as selling spreads

By midday Monday the KSE-100 had shed 630 points as traders waited on the State Bank’s rate decision and weighed Middle East and oil-market jitters.

By 12:45pm Monday the KSE-100 was down 630.01 points, or 0.39%, at 161,744.83 after an early drop of more than 1,000 points.

Selling hit automobile assemblers, cement, banks, energy exploration, oil marketing, power and refinery shares.

Investors were waiting for the State Bank of Pakistan’s monetary policy announcement the same day; analysts expected a 50-basis-point rate increase.

Last week the index lost 4,044.84 points, or 2.4%, its fifth straight weekly decline.

Brent crude was at $114.51 a barrel and US WTI at $101.04, both lower on Monday after last week’s rise toward six-month highs.

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