Negative sentiments were observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index losing over 700 points following the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision. At 10:25am, the benchmark index was hovering at 113,632.09 level, a decrease of 724.25 points or 0.63%. Selling pressure was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks including ARL, HUBCO, PSO, SSGC, MARI, OGDC and PPL traded in the red. Contrary to expectations, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday kept its policy rate unchanged, for the first time since June 2024, citing risks primarily from volatility in food prices and global protectionist policies. Most of the market experts had expected the central bank to continue its monetary easing stance as a declining inflation rate has driven expectations of a seventh-successive cut. In another key development, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission and Pakistani authorities on Monday held discussions on agricultural income tax. Sources in the Finance Ministry revealed that the Fund mission held a special session with provincial governments, Ministry of Finance and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) officials on agriculture income tax. On Monday, PSX witnessed a volatile session, as the benchmark KSE-100 Index ended the day on a flat note amid last-hour profit-taking, settling at 114,356.34. Globally, Asian stocks took their cue from Wall Street and fell sharply on Tuesday as worries mounted that a wide-ranging trade war could dent US economic growth and result in a recession, leading skittish investors to the safe-haven Japanese yen. Investor concerns about the potential economic slowdown were exacerbated after President Donald Trump in a Fox News interview talked about a “period of transition” while declining to predict whether his tariffs would result in a US recession. Those comments and worries sapped risk sentiment, sending stocks sliding and weighing on the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields. The S&P 500 fell 2.7% on Monday, its biggest one-day drop this year, while the Nasdaq slid 4.0%, its biggest single-day percentage drop since September 2022. S&P and Nasdaq futures slid 1% in Asian hours on Tuesday. In Asia, it was a sea of red with Japan’s Nikkei and Taiwan stocks sliding about 3%, hitting their lowest level since September. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell more than 1%. This is an intra-day update