KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained under pressure and closed the week on a negative note. The benchmark KSE-100 index decreased by 533 points amid consolidation near earnings season close.
The KSE-100 decreased by 532.64 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 113,251.67 points, down from the 113,784.31 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 114,265.97 points, while the lowest level was recorded at 113,201.84 points.
Ahsan Mehanti, an analyst at Arif Habib Corp, said, “Stocks closed under pressure amid consolidation near earnings season close and government projections over spike in CPI inflation next month.”
He said that dismal earnings of PPL and OGDC, concerns over IMF-led corporate and provincial tax reforms, and uncertainty over IMF approvals for the power tax relief and federal budget FY26 proposals played a catalyst role in the bearish close.
The KSE-30 index decreased by 193.22 points or 0.55 per cent to 35,193.94 points against 35,387.15 points. Traded shares rose by 75 million shares to 472.078 million shares against 397.393 million shares. The trading value rose to Rs22.778 billion from Rs19.327 billion. Market capital narrowed to Rs13.98 trillion against Rs14.033 trillion. Of the 444 companies active in the session, 119 closed in green, 263 in red, and 62 remained unchanged.
Analyst Nabeel Haroon at Topline Securities said the KSE-100 index opened on a positive note and gained to make an intraday high of +482 points. However, during the latter hours of the trade, pressure was observed in the market as the index declined to close at 113,252 level (down by -0.47 per cent).
The top positive contributions to the index came from BAHL, NBP, AGP, MEBL, NML, and MLCF, which cumulatively added +293 points. On the other hand, the top negative contributions to the index came from ENGROH, FFC, SYS, MARI, EFERT, and SEARL, which cumulatively contributed -521 points.
Traded value wise NBP ($8 million), AGP ($4.93 million), OGDC ($3.8 million), MLCF ($3.2 million), PPL ($2.88 million) & AIRLINK ($2.81 million) dominated the trading activity The highest increase was recorded in Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited, which rose by Rs72.99 to Rs9,373.66 per share, followed by Khyber Tobacco Company Limited, which increased by Rs27.46 to Rs302.01 per share.
A significant decline was noted in Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited, which fell by Rs369.49 to Rs23,030.50 per share; PIA Holding Company Limited B followed it, which closed lower by Rs78.41 to Rs805.88 per share.
Muhammad Hasan Ather, an analyst at JS Global, said the market faced selling pressure in the energy sector, with stocks like MARI, POL and PPL trading in red. “Despite buying interest in the banking sector, the overall sentiment remained cautious due to concerns over inflation and global economic uncertainties.”
“Looking ahead,” he said. “The market is expected to remain volatile, with investors closely monitoring economic indicators and corporate earnings.” Pak Int Bulk remained the volume leader with 52.248 million shares, which closed higher by 66 paisas to Rs9.6 per share. WorldCall Telecom, with 43.457 million shares, followed it, which closed lower by 4 paisas to Rs1.41 per share.
Other significant turnover stocks included National Bank XD, Ghani Global Glass, Maple Leaf, BO Punjab, Cnergyico PK, Symmetry Group Ltd, Bank Makramah and At-Tahur Ltd. In the futures market, 334 companies recorded trading, 84 of which increased, 247 decreased and 3 remained unchanged.
