Pakistan, March 9 -- PSX market tumbled sharply on Monday as escalating tensions in the Middle East triggered panic selling among investors, pushing the benchmark KSE-100 Index to a steep intraday decline.

The index dropped by 9,453.22 points, or about 6%, during early trading to reach 148,042.88 points, down from the previous close of 157,496.10. The sell-off intensified as the session progressed, with the index touching an intraday low of 144,929.84 - a fall of 12,375.17 points or 7.98%.

The sharp drop prompted a temporary suspension of trading at the Pakistan Stock Exchange under its risk-management rules. According to the exchange, the halt was triggered after the KSE-30 Index fell by 5%, automatically suspending equity-based tradi...