Web Desk(National Times)- The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark index KSE-100 shed over 3,500 points during intraday trade on Monday in a turbulent session, after United States President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of Iranian ports.

The KSE-100 index declined by over 5,000 points at the start of the session, hitting an intraday low of 161,638.07 at around 9:50am after its previous close at 167,191.37.

It fluctuated around the 162,000 barrier before breaching 163,000 again at around 11am, hitting an intraday high of 163,429.78.

Hormuz, a key shipping lane off the coast of Iran, has been virtually blocked by Tehran since the United States and Israel started bombing Iran on February 28, though reopening the strait was ostensibly a condition of the ceasefire put in place earlier this week.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said that any military vessels attempting to approach the Strait of Hormuz would be considered a violation of the two-week ceasefire with the US, and warned that it would be dealt with harshly and decisively.