Karachi — The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a sharp sell-off on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding more than 6,000 points amid heightened selling pressure and cautious investor sentiment linked to geopolitical tensions involving Iran and the United States.

During intraday trading, the KSE-100 Index fell by 6,419.24 points, or about 3.4 percent, to 181,961.14 points, compared with the previous close of 188,380.38 points. The steep decline reversed early gains seen at the start of the session.

The market had opened on a positive note, climbing more than 500 points to an intraday high of 188,923 points, driven by early buying in key sectors. However, momentum quickly faded as profit-taking set in, pushing the index down by more than 1,700 points to 186,658 points before losses deepened further as trading progressed.

Market participants attributed the sharp downturn to a combination of profit-taking after recent gains, cautious investor behaviour, and ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty. Analysts said concerns over external economic pressures, interest rate expectations, and corporate earnings outlooks also weighed on sentiment, prompting investors to trim positions.

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A day earlier, the KSE-100 had managed to recover from previous losses, closing 177.53 points higher, or 0.09 percent, at 188,380.39 points, according to PSX data. The contrasting sessions underscored the volatility currently prevailing in the market.

Trading activity remained robust despite the decline. The ready market recorded a volume of 953.917 million shares, with a total traded value of Rs 48.878 billion, compared with 749.247 million shares worth Rs 53.061 billion in the previous session.

Market capitalisation stood at Rs 21.186 trillion, slightly higher than Rs 21.147 trillion recorded a day earlier. Of the 485 companies active in the ready market, 182 stocks advanced, 253 declined, while 50 remained unchanged by the close of trading.