KARACHI:
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed cautious trading on Thursday while heading into a long Eid and weekly break as the benchmark KSE-100 index closed down 1.01%, or 1,552 points, at 152,740.38.
The bourse remained range bound during the week as persistent geopolitical tensions weighed on investor sentiment Topline Securities, in its market review, noted that investors adopted a cautious approach on the last trading session before a long weekend. The index remained under pressure and closed down by 1%. Investor pessimism can be attributed to Wednesday’s developments where Israel’s attack on Iran’s South Pars gas field and in response Iran’s attack on Qatar’s LNG facility sent crude oil prices soaring.
The top negative contribution to the KSE-100 index came from Engro Holdings, UBL, Pakistan Petroleum, Meezan Bank and Engro Fertilisers as they cumulatively erased 640 points. Traded value-wise, NBP (Rs1.81 billion), Mari Energies (Rs1.27 billion), PPL (Rs1.08 billion), Fauji Fertiliser Company (Rs1.07 billion) and Lucky Cement (Rs956 million) dominated the activity. Traded volume and value for the day stood at 327 million shares and Rs19.4 billion, respectively, Topline added.
Arif Habib Limited (AHL) highlighted that the KSE-100 ended the week with a 0.73% decline as selling ahead of the holiday period limited gains. On Thursday, 23 stocks advanced while 72 fell, with HBL (+0.37%), Fatima Fertiliser (+0.85%) and Kohinoor Textile (+2.43%) leading the index upwards, while Engro Holdings (-1.99%), UBL (-1.43%) and PPL (-2.53%) weighed the most on the market. Mari Energies reported an oil and gas discovery at Shams-1 well in Ghotki, which was expected to yield 48 million cubic feet of gas per day and 64 barrels of oil per day. Regionally, Pakistan and Afghanistan announced a temporary pause in military operations during Eidul Fitr.
“Investors will continue to monitor Middle Eastern developments over the holiday period, which are likely to influence the KSE-100 next week. Seasonally, Pakistan remains in a favourable window where a major market low could set the stage for a rally into August,” AHL said.
During the day, foreign investors sold shares worth Rs374 million, the National Clearing Company reported.
Weekly performance
Topline stated that the KSE-100 declined by 0.73% on a week-on-week basis. This weekly decline can be attributed to further escalation of the Middle East conflict and its resulting impact on energy prices.
Important developments during the outgoing week were Pakistan posting a current account surplus of $427 million in Feb’26 vs surplus of $68 million in Jan’26, Pakistan’s Real Effective Exchange Rate decreasing to 102.54 in Feb’26 compared to 103.3 in Jan’26, yields rising by 51-100 basis points across different tenors in the T-bill auction held during the week, large-scale manufacturing (LSM) index surging by 10.5% YoY and 12.1% MoM in Jan’26 and Pakistan’s IT exports for Feb’26 standing at $365 million (up 20% YoY but down 2% MoM), it said.
Syed Danyal Hussain of JS Global noted that the KSE-100 remained range bound during the week as persistent geopolitical tensions weighed on investor sentiment. Brent crude prices once again crossed the $115-per-barrel mark, adding further pressure on the market. As a result, the index closed at 152,740 points, down 0.7% WoW.
During the week, concerns over supply disruptions resurfaced following the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz. However, the government notified that the country had sufficient fuel stocks for March, with additional coverage secured through mid-April.
On the macro front, the State Bank reported a current account surplus of $427 million in Feb’26, supported by strong remittance inflows and a notable reduction in income deficit, which offset the still-elevated trade gap. However, on a cumulative basis, the country posted a C/A deficit of $700 million in 8MFY26, Hussain said.
