New Delhi, March 6 -- Pakistan's stock market traded sharply lower on Friday amid heightened volatility as tensions escalated due to ongoing cross-border clashes with Afghanistan. The benchmark Karachi 100 Index on the Karachi Stock Exchange declined more than 2%, tracking the broader sell-off across Asian markets amid the continuing US-Iran war in the Middle East.

The Karachi 100 Index fell as much as 2.56%, or 4,138 points, to an intraday low of 157,072.

Among the major laggards on the index, Javedan Corp was the top loser, plunging nearly 10%. Other stocks including International Industries, Unity Foods, Interloop, Fauji Cement Company, Systems Ltd, Nishat Mills, and International Steels also declined by up to 6%.

The decline in Pak...