KSE – 100 index down 700 points

PSX’ Benchmark KSE – 100 Index opened the day with a steep fall after it lost more than 700 points at the outset. The index succumbed to global selling pressure initiated by the selloff in US Equities. The US Equities sell off accelerated sharply today, with Dow Jones plunging about 1,500 points falling back on much of the tax gains helped up by the US tax cuts.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 4.2 percent to 2,647.18, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 3.6 percent to 6,980.28. US stocks have been under pressure for the last week as investors weigh the risks of more Federal Reserve interest rate hikes following strong economic data

Index is down 1.5% with Commercial Banks, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies, and Fertilizer stocks taking away more than 390 points.

PPL -2.29%, MARI -2.73%, DAWH -4.25%, KOHC -4.01%, PIOC -3.32%, DGKC -2.17%, and SSGC -3.46% have been the top laggards since open.

Within the 20 first minutes of open, market volume is currently trading at 19.253 million, with a total value of 1.057 billion.