Monday, April 06 2026

Selling pressure at bourse, KSE-100 down over 1,000 points
Selling pressure was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding over 1,000 points during the opening minutes of trading on Monday. At 9:50am, the benchmark index was hovering at 149,361.13, down by 1,037.58 points or 0.69%. Selling was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies and refinery. Index-heavy stocks, including OGDC, POL, MCB, NBP and UBL, traded in the red. During the last week, Pakistan’s stock market remained under pressure amid escalating geopolitical tensions and persistently high global oil prices. The benchmark KSE-100 Index continued to exhibit volatility, declining by 1,309 points or 0.9% on a week-on-week basis to close at 150,398.70 points. Internationally, oil prices rose, bonds fell, and stocks ‌were mixed at the start of trading in Asia on Monday as US President Donald Trump vowed “hell” if Tehran does not meet his deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
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Asia markets brace for Trump’s promised assault on Iranian infrastructure
Oil prices rose, bonds fell and stocks ‌were mixed at the start of trading in Asia on Monday as US President Donald Trump vowed “hell” if Tehran does not meet his deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Trump’s repeated threats to destroy civilian infrastructure including power plants and bridges if the vital waterway is not open by ​Tuesday have put traders on edge for reciprocal attacks by Iran on targets in the Gulf states. With liquidity thin ​as many countries around the region observed holidays on Monday, S&P 500 e-mini futures sank 0.2%, while ⁠MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.5%. The Nikkei 225 rose 1.2%, as South Korea’s Kospi advanced ​2%. Brent crude futures opened higher, rising 1.4% to $110.58 a barrel after members of the OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to raise its oil ​output quotas by 206,000 barrels per day for May.
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Dollar steady as traders fret about escalating Iran war
The dollar was steady on Monday, while the yen flirted with the crucial 160 per dollar level as nervous investors took ​stock of the escalating Iran war, with all eyes on the latest deadline from US President Donald Trump to reopen Strait of Hormuz. In an ‌expletive-laden Easter Sunday social media post, Trump threatened to target Iran’s power plants and bridges on Tuesday if the strategic waterway is not reopened, setting a precise deadline of Tuesday 8 p.m. Eastern Time (0000 GMT). With most of Asia and Europe closed for holiday on Monday, liquidity is likely to be thin, although risk-off sentiment has broadly set in at the ​start of the week. “Trump’s latest deadline itself is bearish not because investors think war is guaranteed tomorrow if Iran does not open the ​Strait, but because every new ultimatum makes the disruption look longer, stickier, and more macro-negative,” said Charu Chanana, chief investment ⁠strategist at Saxo in Singapore.
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Gold falls as Iran war, robust US jobs data dim Fed rate-cut hopes
Gold prices fell on Monday, pressured by ‌a stronger dollar as elevated oil prices on the back of a protracted Iran war and stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data dampened hopes for interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Spot ​gold slipped 0.9% to $4,631.69 per ounce by 0306 GMT, while U.S. ​gold futures for April delivery lost 0.5% to $4,657.50 in thin liquidity ⁠trade, with many markets in Asia and Europe closed for a holiday. “The latest ​robust NFP print has reinforced hawkish central bank nerves, while persistent oil-driven inflation ​fears continue to crowd out gold’s traditional safe-haven sparkle,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst, KCM Trade. Data on Friday showed that U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 178,000 jobs in March, the most ​since December 2024, while the unemployment rate fell to 4.3%.
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Oil prices rise as US-Israeli war with Iran continues to disrupt supply
Oil prices climbed on Monday ‌on continuing fears of supply losses because of shipping disruptions in the key Middle East producing region from the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Brent crude futures rose $1.71, or 1.6%, to $110.74 a barrel by 0057 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained $0.71, or 0.6%, to trade ​at $112.25 per barrel. On Thursday, the last trading day before the Good Friday holiday break, WTI ​settled up more than 11% and Brent soared nearly 8% in volatile trading, recording ⁠their biggest absolute price increase since 2020, as U.S. President Donald Trump promised to continue attacks on ​Iran. The Strait of Hormuz, which carries oil and petroleum products from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait ​and the United Arab Emirates, remains largely closed by Iranian attacks on shipping after the war began on February 28.
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