KARACHI: Pakistan’s stock market remained under pressure during the past week, as persistent geopolitical uncertainty surrounding US-Iran ceasefire negotiations, elevated global oil prices, additional IMF-linked policy concerns and domestic energy shortages combined to dampen investor sentiment.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index down 3,266.98 points, or 1.9 percent week-on-week, to close at 170,672.04 points from 173,939.02 points last week. The market remained volatile as geopolitical risks dominated sentiment, while the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz pushed Brent crude back above $100 per barrel, intensifying concerns over imported inflation, the current account, corporate margins and the broader economic outlook.
Analysts at JS Research said geopolitical uncertainty remained the principal drag on performance, with investors adopting a defensive posture throughout the week.
The decline erased significant investor wealth, with Pakistan Stock Exchange market capitalization falling to Rs18,877.36 billion from Rs19,250.05 billion, representing a contraction of Rs372.69 billion, while in dollar terms market capitalization declined to $67.70 billion from $69.02 billion, down 1.9 percent week-on-week.
Further weighing on sentiment were reports that 11 additional IMF conditions may be introduced under the program, even as the government committed to a tighter fiscal stance for FY27 with a primary surplus target of Rs2.8 trillion and tax revenues of Rs15.56 trillion.
Adding to the concerns, Pakistan faced a power shortfall exceeding 11,000 megawatts due to zero RLNG supply, prompting the government to issue an urgent LNG tender under amended PPRA rules to meet supply needs.
On the external financing front, however, there were supportive developments.
The government repaid $1 billion to the UAE, taking total repayments to $3.4 billion, while securing $1 billion in fresh inflows from Saudi Arabia, lifting total Saudi support to $3 billion, in addition to the rollover of an existing $5 billion Saudi deposit.
Pakistan also raised USD750 million from international capital markets, marking its first re-entry into global markets in four years, while State Bank foreign exchange reserves stood at USD15.1 billion at week-end.
Trading activity remained robust despite the benchmark decline. Average daily traded volume on the ready market rose 16.2 percent to 1.206 billion shares compared to 1.037 billion shares last week, underscoring strong market participation despite weak sentiment.
However, average daily traded value on the ready counter declined 5.8 percent to Rs45.61 billion, down from Rs48.39 billion, while in dollar terms it slipped 5.7 percent to $163.53 million from USD173.48 million, suggesting lower value turnover despite higher share activity.
Sector-wise, performance was mixed but largely negative, with only a few pockets of gains. Refinery stocks led gains, rising 7.9 percent, followed by Oil Marketing Companies up 0.6 percent, while Food stocks slipped 0.2 percent, outperforming the broader market.
Among sectors under pressure, textile composites fell 0.8 percent, E&Ps lost 1.3 percent, banks declined 1.4 percent.
Chemicals and Power each dropped 1.9 percent, Autos declined 2.5 percent, Technology & Communication fell 2.9 percent, Fertilizer lost 3.0 percent, Engineering declined 3.5 percent, cement dropped 4.7 percent, while Pharmaceuticals emerged the worst-performing sector, down 6.1 percent.
In terms of market activity, Technology & Communication accounted for 15 percent of volumes, followed by Power 11 percent, Banks 11 percent, Investment Banks 10 percent, Food 8 percent, while other sectors contributed 46 percent of traded volume.
Among individual performers, YOUW emerged top gainer, surging 68.4 percent to Rs7.93, followed by ATRL rising 11.2 percent to Rs972.78, GADT up 8.9 percent to Rs299.43, IBFL gaining 7.9 percent to Rs237.32, MUREB up 6.3 percent to Rs958.00, CNERGY adding 4.4 percent to Rs8.08, and PSO gaining 3.8 percent to Rs393.07.
On the downside, PIOC led losers, falling 10.3 percent to Rs227.05, followed by DGKC down 9.4 percent to Rs183.83, ISL losing 8.8 percent to Rs82.02, CPHL declining 8.7 percent to Rs80.02, MLCF also down 8.7 percent to Rs87.57, CHCC shedding 8.4 percent to Rs280.53, and HINOON losing 7.8 percent to Rs955.52.
Business Recorder benchmark indices also mirrored the broader weakness.
The BRIndex100 opened the week at 19,716.90 points and closed at 18,913.08 points. Total turnover on the BRIndex100 stood at 4.782 billion shares, reflecting sustained activity amid declining prices.
Similarly, the BRIndex30 opened at 71,310.20 points and settled at 69,161.17 points, with turnover of 3.072 billion shares, underscoring continued activity in blue-chip stocks despite pressure.
Analysts said Pakistan’s market largely tracked the broader regional risk-off tone, though domestic energy shortages and IMF-related uncertainty added additional pressure.
Going forward, analysts expect investors to closely monitor progress in US-Iran negotiations, movement in global crude prices, developments in IMF discussions and government efforts to manage the domestic energy crisis. Until clarity emerges on those fronts, they said, volatility may persist.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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