KARACHI – Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened last of the business week as selling pressure intensified amid rising tensions in the Middle East as the Yemen’s Houthis have claimed to have control of Bab el-Mandeb.
The KSE-100 index has lost 2,658.65 points in the early trading session to 166,2026.39 points, reflecting a negative change of 1.57 percent compared to previous close of 168,865.04.
Meanwhile, oil prices climbed above $108 a barrel on Friday as escalating military tensions around Yemen and key Middle Eastern shipping routes intensified concerns over prolonged disruptions to global energy supplies.
Brent crude futures gained 81 cents, or 0.8%, to reach $108.44 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 69 cents, or 0.7%, to $103.17 a barrel by 0345 GMT. Both benchmarks had jumped more than 6% in the previous session.
The latest gains put both major oil benchmarks on course for their first weekly close above $100 a barrel since mid-May.
Prices were up nearly 13% over the week, marking their strongest weekly advance since the week ending July 17.
Market concerns have intensified following developments around Yemen and the Red Sea. Iran-aligned Houthi forces reportedly took control of the port of Mocha on Thursday, increasing worries over shipping through one of the region’s critical maritime corridors.
Senior Ansar Allah official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti has claimed that the Houthis have established full control over the Bab al-Mandab strait.
Iranian media reports also said Houthi forces had captured strategically important areas in Yemen’s western Taiz province, including the al-Khalid and Jabal al-Nasr military bases, and had reached the entrances of the al-Mokha port area.
