KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) ended marginally lower on Friday as investors engaged in weekend position-squaring, erasing early gains and leaving the index in negative territory despite a largely range-bound trading session.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index shed 346.57 points, or 0.19 percent, to close at 181,430.02 points, compared with 181,776.60 points in the previous session. The index traded between an intraday high of 181,647.27 points and a low of 180,620.08 points before settling slightly below the previous close.
Business Recorder’s market indices also reflected the subdued sentiment.
The BRIndex100 declined 45.23 points, or 0.23 percent, to close at 20,022.79 points, with a total trading volume of 570.09 million shares.
Meanwhile, the BRIndex30 eased by 5.76 points, or 0.01 percent, to settle at 72,120.96 points, with turnover of 390.58 million shares.
According to Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Limited, the market remained subdued throughout the session, with profit-taking emerging during the latter half of trading.
“PSX witnessed a mixed session today. The market opened on a subdued note. However, early gains were erased during the second half of the session as investors opted to square off positions ahead of the weekend, resulting in a marginally negative close,” he said.
Najib added that Hub Power Company (HUBC), Mari Energies (MARI), Cnergyico PK (CNERGY), Ghandhara Industries (GHGL) and Bank of Punjab (BOP) collectively contributed 187 points to the benchmark index, while Engro Holdings (ENGROH), United Bank Limited (UBL), MCB Bank, Engro Fertilizers (EFERT) and Fatima Fertilizer together wiped out 332 points amid selective profit-taking.
Overall trading activity weakened compared with the previous session.
Ready Market volume declined to 716.04 million shares from 793.35 million shares, while traded value fell to Rs34.10 billion from Rs40.31 billion.
Ready Market capitalization also decreased by Rs25.93 billion to Rs20.24 trillion.
Market breadth favoured the bears. Out of 492 companies traded on the Ready Market, 207 advanced, 260 declined, while 25 remained unchanged.
Cnergyico PK led the volume chart, with 161.18 million shares changing hands. The stock closed at Rs11.94, up from Rs11.25 of previous day.
Other actively traded stocks included Bank of Punjab with 52.33 million shares, Wasl Mobility Modaraba with 24.22 million shares, Pace (Pakistan) with 20.06 million shares, Nishat Chunian Power with 18.25 million shares, and Nishat Power with 15.21 million shares.
Among major gainers, Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited surged Rs139.00 to close at Rs25,350.00 per share, followed by The Thal Industries Corporation Limited, which gained Rs70.49 to Rs1,476.87.
On the losing side, PIA Holding Company Limited (B) declined Rs47.60 to Rs17,848.40, while Tandlianwala Sugar Mills Limited fell Rs33.14 to Rs576.30 per share.
Among BR sectoral indices, the BR Power Generation and Distribution Index was the strongest performer, advancing 189.87 points, or 0.66 percent, to 28,748.17 points.
The BR Oil and Gas Index added 10.61 points, or 0.07 percent, to 14,991.45 points.
On the downside, the BR Commercial Banks Index fell 211.71 points, or 0.33 percent, to 64,124.00 points, while the BR Automobile Assembler Index, BR Tech & Communication Index, and BR Cement Index declined 0.14 percent, 0.11 percent, and 0.06 percent, respectively.
Analysts said the market is likely to remain range-bound in the near term as investors await fresh macroeconomic triggers and corporate earnings announcements. While easing geopolitical tensions and relatively stable international oil prices are expected to support sentiment, profit-taking at higher levels may continue to keep the benchmark volatile.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
Comments