KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained under pressure on Wednesday as investor sentiment stayed subdued amid renewed overnight tensions between the United States and Iran, prompting cautious trading and broad-based selling across key sectors.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index declined by 903.12 points or 0.53 percent to close at 169,427.44 points compared to the previous close of 170,330.56 points. The market remained volatile throughout the session, with the index touching an intraday high of 170,729.57 points and a low of 169,346.38 points before settling in negative territory.
BRIndex100 closed at 18,702.74 points, down 123.24 points or 0.65 percent, with total turnover of 554.00 million shares. BRIndex30 fell 513.92 points or 0.75 percent to close at 68,155.90 points on a turnover of 295.11 million shares.
According to Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Limited, the market witnessed a mixed session with the benchmark KSE-100 Index slipping below the key 170,000-point level. He said investor confidence remained weak as renewed tensions between Washington and Tehran weighed on market sentiment, encouraging investors to largely stay on the sidelines.
Najib noted that BAHL, UBL, MCB, ENGROH, OGDC, HBL, HUBC, LUCK, SYS and FFC emerged as the major laggards, collectively dragging the benchmark index down by around 700 points. He added that geopolitical developments would continue to dictate market direction in the near term, with uncertainty surrounding the US-Iran situation likely to keep volatility elevated.
Despite the decline in prices, trading activity remained robust. In the regular market, total turnover increased to 791.64 million shares from 767.45 million shares in the previous session. However, traded value declined to Rs25.48 billion from Rs27.18 billion.
Overall market capitalization contracted to Rs18.85 trillion from Rs18.91 trillion recorded in the previous session, reflecting an erosion of nearly Rs59.8 billion in listed equity values amid the prevailing bearish sentiment and broad-based decline in share prices.
Market breadth remained negative across all trading segments. In the ready market, 191 companies advanced, 258 declined and 39 remained unchanged out of 488 traded companies.
Activity in the ready market was concentrated in a handful of highly traded stocks. TPL Properties led the volume chart with turnover of 64.04 million shares, closing at Rs11.42. It was followed by TPL Corp Limited with 40.65 million shares and Telecard Limited with 40.41 million shares. Loads Limited traded 33.99 million shares, while Oilboy Energy exchanged 30.16 million shares.
On the gainers’ board, Sapphire Textile Mills Limited emerged as the top performer, rising by Rs120.20 to close at Rs1,514.13, followed by Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited, which gained Rs102.76 to settle at Rs9,547.15.
On the losing side, PIA Holding Company Limited-B registered the steepest decline, plunging by Rs1,212.00 to close at Rs17,178.00, while Sindh Abadgars Sugar Mills Limited fell by Rs31.71 to settle at Rs374.30.
Among sectoral BR indices, the BR Automobile Assembler Index declined by 47.13 points or 0.17 percent to close at 27,198.84 points with turnover of 7.42 million shares. The BR Cement Index lost 57.70 points or 0.49 percent to settle at 11,813.46 points on turnover of 35.19 million shares.
The BR Commercial Banks Index fell by 454.60 points or 0.80 percent to close at 56,509.26 points, while the BR Power Generation and Distribution Index shed 201.31 points or 0.73 percent to finish at 27,539.35 points.
The BR Oil and Gas Index decreased by 67.95 points or 0.46 percent to 14,816.01 points. The BR Tech & Communication Index also remained under pressure, losing 40.45 points or 1.04 percent to settle at 3,861.20 points.
Market participants are expected to remain focused on developments in the Middle East, particularly the evolving US-Iran situation, which continues to influence risk appetite, foreign market trends and commodity prices.
Analysts believe that until greater geopolitical clarity emerges, investor sentiment is likely to remain cautious and the local bourse may continue to witness heightened volatility.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
Comments