The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained under pressure on Monday as renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, rising international oil prices, and profit-taking in heavyweight sectors dampened investor sentiment. The benchmark KSE-100 Index surrendered early gains to close sharply lower, extending the market's recent volatility.

The KSE-100 Index settled at 178,414.79, declining by 1,156.47 points (-0.64%). The benchmark traded within a volatile range of 1,941.01 points during the session, touching an intraday high of 180,272.01 (+700.75 points) before reversing to an intraday low of 178,331.00 (-1,240.26 points), as selling pressure intensified in the latter half of the trading day.

Investor sentiment remained cautious after international oil prices moved higher following fresh military exchanges between the United States and Iran over the weekend. The renewed escalation revived concerns over potential disruptions to crude oil supplies from the Middle East, prompting investors to adopt a more defensive approach.

Higher global energy prices and increased geopolitical uncertainty encouraged market participants to trim positions in key index-heavy sectors. Profit-taking following the market's recent gains further accelerated the decline, particularly in banking, exploration, fertilizer, power generation, and cement stocks.

Trading activity remained healthy, with total volume in KSE-100 stocks reaching 330.97 million shares.

Market breadth remained firmly negative as 72 companies closed lower while only 28 advanced, reflecting widespread selling across the benchmark index.

Among the major decliners, HGFA (-3.97%), SSGC (-3.78%), FCCL (-3.72%), SNGP (-3.71%), and PABC (-3.60%) recorded the steepest losses. On the positive side, ILP (+8.83%), ISL (+4.72%), DCR (+3.78%), KOHC (+3.75%), and GHGL (+2.32%) emerged among the session's top performers.

In terms of index-point contribution, FFC exerted the largest negative impact on the benchmark by erasing 170.19 points. Other major contributors to the decline included HUBC (-134.70 points), OGDC (-107.37 points), BAFL (-93.80 points), and LUCK (-90.82 points).

Supporting the benchmark were ILP (+86.16 points), ENGROH (+75.79 points), KOHC (+31.98 points), DCR (+27.41 points), and ISL (+22.20 points), which helped offset part of the broader market weakness.

Sector-wise, Commercial Banks led the decline, shaving off 303.46 points from the benchmark. Additional pressure came from Oil & Gas Exploration Companies (-213.25 points), Fertilizer (-203.60 points), Power Generation & Distribution (-165.75 points), and Cement (-151.17 points).

Meanwhile, Textile Composite (+92.90 points), Investment Banks, Investment Companies & Securities Companies (+61.16 points), Real Estate Investment Trusts (+23.66 points), Engineering (+22.18 points), and Glass & Ceramics (+17.85 points) provided partial support to the market.

In the broader market, the All-Share Index settled at 107,979.81, declining by 621.12 points (-0.57%). Overall market activity remained robust, with total traded volume increasing to 869.38 million shares from 851.30 million shares in the previous session. Traded value also improved by Rs3.57 billion to Rs43.95 billion.

A total of 462,196 trades were recorded across 493 listed companies. Of these, 150 companies advanced, 320 declined, and 23 remained unchanged, highlighting the cautious mood prevailing across the broader market.

Top volume leaders included SPSL (104.44 million shares), WTL (75.53 million shares), KEL (51.57 million shares), PAEL (29.21 million shares), and GCIL (24.82 million shares).