KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained under heavy selling pressure during the week ended July 17, as escalating regional geopolitical tensions and a sharp rise in international oil prices undermined investor confidence, extending the market’s losing streak for a second consecutive week.
According to the weekly market review, the benchmark KSE-100 Index declined by 3.5 percent on a week-on-week basis, shedding 6,438.97 points to close at 175,802.80 points after opening the week at 182,241.77 points.
The broad-based decline also weighed on the overall valuation of the market, with PSX market capitalization falling 3.5 percent to Rs19.790 trillion from Rs20.503 trillion a week earlier. In US dollar terms, market capitalization declined 3.4 percent to US$71.20 billion from USD73.74 billion.
Business Recorder’s benchmark indices also ended the week lower. The BRIndex100 fell by 765.21 points to close at 19,299.72 points after opening the week at 20,064.93 points. The index recorded a total weekly turnover of 2.912 billion shares, translating into an average daily turnover (ADTO) of approximately 582.4 million shares. Similarly, the BRIndex30 lost 3,866.68 points to settle at 69,867.09 points from its opening level of 73,733.77 points. The index posted a total weekly turnover of 1.837 billion shares, with the average daily turnover working out to approximately 367.5 million shares.
Analysts attributed the week’s weak performance primarily to heightened geopolitical uncertainty, which pushed Brent crude oil prices to a one-month high of US$85 per barrel and dampened investors’ risk appetite.
Macroeconomic indicators also reflected increasing external sector pressures. Pakistan recorded a current account deficit of USD649 million in June 2026, resulting in a cumulative FY26 current account deficit of USD139 million. The deterioration was driven by a 22 percent year-on-year increase in imports, which widened the monthly trade deficit to USD3.55 billion, up 46 percent from a year earlier. Consequently, the cumulative FY26 trade deficit expanded 25 percent year-on-year to USD33.6 billion.
On the industrial front, Large-Scale Manufacturing (LSM) contracted 0.98 percent year-on-year in May 2026. However, cumulative LSM growth during the first 11 months of FY26 remained positive at 5.77 percent.
Analysts noted that the government retired a record Rs2.9 trillion in domestic debt ahead of maturity during FY26. It also continued efforts to strengthen energy security by pursuing a proposed US$6.7 billion long-term oil financing facility from Saudi Arabia, carrying a 15-year tenor at a concessional interest rate of one percent.
However, fiscal challenges persisted as the government missed its end-June 2026 circular debt target of Rs1.614 trillion, with the stock of circular debt rising to Rs1.835 trillion. Meanwhile, the State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves declined by US$1.2 billion during the week to US$17.2 billion, mainly due to external debt repayments.
Trading activity weakened considerably across the ready markets. Average daily turnover (ADTO) in the ready market declined 30.9 percent to 739.94 million shares from 1.071 billion shares in the previous week. Average daily traded value fell 28.0 percent to Rs34.34 billion from Rs47.68 billion, while the dollar value also declined 28.0 percent to US$123.53 million from US$171.46 million.
Sector-wise, the Refinery sector accounted for the largest share of market trading volume at 14 percent, followed by Technology & Communication and Investment Banks with 10 percent each, Commercial Banks with 7 percent and the Property sector with 6 percent, while all other sectors collectively contributed the remaining 53 percent.
Sectoral performance remained broadly negative, with only the Refinery sector posting a gain of 0.6 percent, followed by Technology & Communication, which edged up 0.5 percent. Food declined 1.7 percent, Fertilizer fell 2.4 percent, Automobiles lost 3.0 percent, while Oil Marketing Companies and Commercial Banks each declined 3.6 percent. Pharmaceuticals dropped 3.8 percent, Cement and Chemicals each lost 4.3 percent, Exploration & Production companies and Textile Composite declined 4.8 percent, Engineering fell 5.1 percent, while the Power sector emerged as the worst performer, losing 5.4 percent.
Among individual stocks, Pioneer Cement Limited (PIOC) led the gainers with a 2.7 percent increase to Rs280.01, followed by Cnergyico PK, which gained 1.2 percent to Rs9.81, and TPL REIT Fund I, which advanced 1.0 percent to Rs10.09.
On the losing side, IBFL declined 12.5 percent to Rs298.98, KTML fell 9.7 percent to Rs46.81, YOUW lost 9.5 percent to Rs5.14, K-Electric dropped 9.3 percent to Rs7.35, ISL declined 9.2 percent to Rs83.26, Air Link Communication fell 8.9 percent to Rs139.53, while TRG Pakistan shed 8.5 percent to Rs60.03.
Overall, the PSX ended another volatile week on a weak footing as escalating geopolitical tensions, rising international oil prices and concerns over Pakistan’s external sector overshadowed supportive domestic debt management measures. Going forward, investors are expected to closely monitor regional developments, global energy markets and key macroeconomic indicators for fresh direction.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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