KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) started June on a bearish note as investor sentiment remained fragile amid the absence of a conclusive United States-Iran peace agreement over the weekend, triggering broad-based profit-taking and selling pressure across key sectors.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index witnessed a volatile session and closed sharply lower by 3,362.62 points, or 1.93 percent, to settle at 170,600.20 points compared to the previous close of 173,962.82 points. During the session, the index touched an intraday high of 174,171.64 points before sliding to a low of 170,396.85 points, reflecting heightened uncertainty among investors.
BRIndex100 closed at 18,795.70 points, down 473.59 points or 2.46 percent from the previous close, with total traded volume of 450.89 million shares. BRIndex30 declined by 1,464.80 points or 2.09 percent to close at 68,517.34 points, while total turnover stood at 315.44 million shares.
According to Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Limited, the market ended the session on a weak note as investor sentiment remained fragile due to the lack of a definitive US-Iran peace agreement.
He noted that broad-based selling emerged across major sectors, with Engro Holdings, Fauji Fertilizer Company, Lucky Cement, Oil and Gas Development Company, Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Hub Power Company, United Bank Limited, Engro Fertilizers, Meezan Bank and Habib Bank Limited collectively dragging the benchmark index lower by 2,127 points.
Overall market activity remained healthy despite the decline. Regular market turnover increased to 589.76 million shares from 555.06 million shares in the previous session, while traded value stood at Rs31.98 billion compared to Rs40.88 billion previously.
Market capitalization contracted significantly to Rs18.876 trillion from Rs19.166 trillion recorded in the previous session, reflecting the broad-based decline in share prices.
Market breadth overwhelmingly favored the bears. In the Ready Market, 168 companies advanced, 296 declined and 25 remained unchanged out of 489 traded companies.
Trading activity was concentrated in a number of high-volume counters. Dewan Cement led the volume chart with 43.32 million shares, closing at Rs11.23 against Rs10.75 previously. TRG Pakistan followed with turnover of 39.41 million shares and closed at Rs74.06. WorldCall Telecom traded 34.96 million shares to settle at Rs1.28, while Cnergyico PK recorded volume of 26.73 million shares and closed at Rs8.37.
On the gainers’ board, Khairpur Sugar Mills Limited emerged as the top performer, gaining Rs242.94 to close at Rs2,672.36, followed by The Thal Industries Corporation Limited, which added Rs77.00 to settle at Rs847.02.
Among the losers, PIA Holding Company LimitedB recorded the steepest decline, falling Rs652.10 to close at Rs17,945.90, while Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited lost Rs161.01 to settle at Rs25,999.99.
Among sector-specific BR indices, the BR Automobile Assembler Index closed at 27,474.20 points, down 106.57 points or 0.39 percent with turnover of 6.16 million shares. The BR Cement Index fell sharply by 411.70 points or 3.37 percent to 11,798.95 points on turnover of 83.86 million shares.
The BR Commercial Banks Index lost 750.33 points or 1.29 percent to settle at 57,418.05 points with volume of 42.15 million shares. The BR Power Generation and Distribution Index closed at 27,757.52 points, down 737.58 points or 2.59 percent with turnover of 29.44 million shares.
The BR Oil and Gas Index declined by 359.94 points or 2.35 percent to 14,930.55 points on turnover of 48.22 million shares, while the BR Tech and Communication Index shed 13.12 points or 0.34 percent to settle at 3,866.62 points with turnover of 116.41 million shares.
Analysts said investors will continue to closely monitor geopolitical developments in the Middle East, particularly progress on US-Iran negotiations. Any positive breakthrough could help revive risk appetite and support a recovery in equities, whereas continued uncertainty may keep market sentiment cautious and volatility elevated in the near term.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
Comments