Pakistan, Feb. 2 -- Pakistan's benchmark KSE-100 index fell 334.45 points during early intraday trading on Monday, dropping 0.18 per cent from its previous close of 184,174.48 points to 183,840.03 points by 11:20am.

The decline follows a turbulent week for the equities market, during which the index lost over 6,000 points on Thursday after the State Bank of Pakistan kept interest rates unchanged at 10.5 per cent. The market rebounded slightly to close in the green on Friday.

Shoaib Memon, executive vice president of equities at AKD Securities, said the market's negative reaction to the central bank's decision is expected to be short-term. He added that despite ongoing US-Iran geopolitical tensions, overall sentiment is likely to remain ...