KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) tumbled sharply and lost more than 5,400 points on Monday, the market data showed, amid escalating geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran and a marked lack of investor risk appetite.

The benchmark KSE-100 index 5,478 points, or 3.16 percent, to close at 167,691 points on Monday as compared to Friday’s close of 173,169 points, according to the PSX website.

The development comes a day after US President Donald Trump said he would decide in “10 or 15 days” whether to order strikes on Iran if no nuclear deal is reached. Iran has said any US attack would be an “act of aggression” that would precipitate a response.

“Risk appetite remains fragile. Markets are still pricing uncertainty,” Muhammad Waqas Ghani, head of research at JS Global Capital, told Arab News.

“Investors don’t wait for inflation prints, trade disruptions, or macro data to confirm the damage, they sell first on heightened geopolitical risk.”

During the intra-day trade, the index fluctuated within the range of 174,336 to 166,886 points, largely influenced by rollover-week dynamics, according to a market review by Topline Securities.

Index-heavy constituents, including Fauji Fertilizer Company (FFC), Lucky Cement (LUCK), Engro Holdings (ENGROH), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and Habib Bank Limited (HBL), emerged as the principal laggards, collectively dragging the benchmark down by 1,797 points during the session.

Despite the decline, the market witnessed trading activity, with total volume of 461 million shares and turnover amounting to Rs24.9 billion ($89 million). K-Electric led the volumes chart, recording over 35.9 million shares traded.