The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) suffered a bloodbath on Tuesday as the benchmark KSE-100 Index tumbled 3.56 per cent, wiping out 6,408.23 points to close at 173,518.81.

The sell-off followed reports that the interim US-Iran peace arrangement had collapsed.

Washington reimposed a naval blockade and carried out airstrikes, while Tehran retaliated by targeting more oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

The escalation stoked fears of regional instability and disrupted global oil supplies, driving broad-based risk aversion across the market.

The index opened higher, touching an intraday peak of 178,112.04, before sustained selling across key sectors erased the early gains.

A brief recovery attempt around midday failed to hold, and selling intensified in the final hours, pulling the index down to an intraday low of 173,349.41.

UBL, Engro Holdings, FFC, Lucky Cement and Meezan Bank led the decline, together shaving 2,057 points off the index.

Trading remained active despite the rout. OGDC topped the value leaderboard at Rs2.73 billion, followed by Maple Leaf Cement (Rs2.57 billion), PPL (Rs1.65 billion), DG Khan Cement (Rs1.60 billion) and FFC (Rs1.41 billion). Total volume reached 913 million shares, with traded value at Rs45.6 billion.

Tuesday’s rout extended losses from a day earlier.

On Monday, the KSE-100 had already dropped 2,314.73 points, or 1.27 per cent, closing at 179,927.05 as the same Middle East tensions first rattled investors and pushed the index below the 180,000 mark.