KARACHI: Pakistan’s equity market witnessed one of its most dramatic sessions in recent history on Monday as heavy selling pressure swept through the trading floor of the Pakistan Stock Exchange, triggering a broad-based rout across multiple sectors, largely attributed to escalating tensions in the Middle East and sharp jolts in international oil markets.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index plunged by 11,015.95 points, or 6.99 percent, to close at 146,480.15 points compared with the previous close of 157,496.10 points, marking the second-largest point-wise decline in the history of the exchange. The KSE-100 Index had traded within a wide range, touching an intraday high of 150,174.10 points before plunging to a low of 144,119.44 points.
The BRIndex100 saw a steep decline of 1,437.53 points or 8.11 percent from the previous close. Total trading volume in the index stood at about 518.65 million shares. The BRIndex30 followed a similar pattern. It eventually closed at 57,255.53 points, registering a loss of 5,425.07 points or 8.66 percent compared with the previous close. Total trading volume in this index reached about 368.02 million shares.
According to Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Marketing at Arif Habib Limited, the sharp sell-off reflected a combination of global shocks and fragile investor sentiment. He noted that the market opened under intense pressure following the overnight surge in global oil prices, which triggered the early circuit breaker. Even after trading resumed, investors remained cautious as fears of rising fuel prices and higher production costs continued to dominate market sentiment.
Large-capitalization stocks bore the brunt of the sell-off and collectively dragged the benchmark index sharply lower. Major index heavyweights including Fauji Fertilizer Company, United Bank Limited, Engro Holdings, Hub Power Company, Lucky Cement, National Bank of Pakistan, Habib Bank Limited, Systems Limited, Meezan Bank, Engro Fertilizers and Pakistan Petroleum Limited together erased 6,308 points from the KSE-100 Index.
Total turnover in the ready market climbed to around 621.65 million shares, compared with 363.14 million shares in the previous session. The total value of shares traded also increased significantly to about Rs37.11 billion, up from Rs23.10 billion previously. However, the sharp drop in share prices caused overall market capitalization to shrink to around Rs16.60 trillion, down from Rs17.69 trillion a day earlier, reflecting a massive erosion of Rs1097 Billion in investor wealth.
Market breadth painted an overwhelmingly bearish picture. Out of 480 companies traded during the session, 386 closed in negative territory, only 33 managed to post gains, while 61 remained unchanged.
On the gainers’ side, Blessed Textiles Limited posted a strong increase of Rs32.43, closing at Rs356.72, while Faisal Spinning Mills Limited advanced Rs25.11 to settle at Rs290.71. However, losses were far more prominent. Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited registered one of the largest declines, falling Rs1,371.42 to close at Rs23,698.33, while Sazgar Engineering Works Limited dropped Rs213.22 to settle at Rs1,918.97.
Among individual stocks, K-Electric dominated the trading charts with about 127.47 million shares exchanged during the session, eventually closing at Rs7.20. Other heavily traded companies included First National Equities Limited with 33.61 million shares closing at Rs1.15, Bank of Punjab with 33.39 million shares closing at Rs25.45.
The BR Automobile Assembler Index closed at 22,980.42 points with a net negative change of 1,642.58 points or 6.67 percent and a total turnover of around 2.35 million shares. The BR Cement Index recorded one of the steepest declines, closing at 9,681.31 points after losing 1,015.27 points or 9.49 percent with a turnover of about 21.84 million shares.
The BR Commercial Banks Index settled at 50,444.28 points, down 3,941.52 points or 7.25 percent, with a turnover of approximately 76.68 million shares. The BR Power Generation and Distribution Index ended the day at 24,210.29 points, reflecting a decline of 2,220.41 points or 8.4 percent and a turnover of around 148.98 million shares.
The BR Oil and Gas Index closed at 13,377.64 points after losing 385.93 points or 2.8 percent with a turnover of about 52.83 million shares. Meanwhile, the BR Technology and Communication Index settled at 2,881.70 points, registering a drop of 290.36 points or 9.15 percent and a turnover of around 60.82 million shares.
Looking ahead, Najib said global markets may be approaching a stage where much of the prevailing uncertainty has already been priced in. Any constructive developments on the Middle East front could help restore investor confidence and potentially trigger a meaningful recovery across financial markets.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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