KARACHI: Pakistan’s equity market closed lower on Friday as a wave of profit-taking emerged following recent sharp rallies, with investors opting to lock in gains amid heightened volatility.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index closed at 184,409.67 points, down 1,133.34 points, or 0.61 percent, from the previous close of 185,543.01 points.
The index remained volatile throughout the session, swinging in both directions and touching an intraday high of 186,180.32 points before sliding to a low of 183,700.84 points, as selling pressure intensified during the latter half of the day.
The BRIndex100 closed at 19,684.24 points, declining 130.31 points, or 0.66 percent, with a total volume of 748.33 million shares.
Meanwhile, the BRIndex30 fell sharply by 913.71 points, or 1.45 percent, to close at 62,270.21 points, with a traded volume of 395.83 million shares.
Commenting on the market performance, Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd, said the Pakistan Stock Exchange took a breather after recent gains, with the benchmark index witnessing sharp intraday swings before closing lower.
He noted that despite the decline, calendar year 2026 year-to-date gains remained strong at 5.95 percent, equivalent to an increase of 10,356 points, indicating that the broader market trend remained constructive.
According to him, sentiment stayed positive during the morning session; however, profit-taking and selling pressure dominated the latter half, forcing the index to register another negative close for CY26.
He further highlighted that on the index contribution front, FFC, AICL, MCB, NML, and KTML emerged as the top gainers, collectively adding 203 points to the benchmark. In contrast, Hub Power Company (HUBC), Lucky Cement (LUCK), Engro Holdings (ENGROH), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), and Engro Fertilizers (EFERT) were the major laggards, jointly dragging the index down by 531 points.
Market participation weakened noticeably. Ready-market volume fell to 1.03 billion shares, compared with 1.43 billion shares in the previous session, while traded value declined sharply to Rs52.92 billion from Rs91.34 billion.
Also, the total market capitalization of the PSX declined to Rs20.77 trillion, compared with Rs20.86 trillion in the previous session, translating into a net erosion of approximately Rs94.34 billion in investor wealth.
Market breadth remained decisively negative. In the Ready Market, out of 483 traded companies, 271 closed lower, 162 advanced, and 50 remained unchanged.
Despite the broader weakness, trading activity remained concentrated in select stocks. Fauji Foods Limited led the volume chart with 75.81 million shares, closing higher at Rs22.02. Hascol Petroleum Limited followed with 68.35 million shares, ending at Rs20.18, while Media Times Limited recorded a turnover of 56.23 million shares, closing at Rs7.61.
On the price movement front, Khyber Textile Mills Limited and Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited featured among companies reflecting an increase in rates, while Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited and PIA Holding Company Limited (B) were among the prominent stocks reflecting a decline in rates, adding to overall index pressure.
Sector-wise, BR indices largely remained under pressure. The BR Automobile Assembler Index closed at 26,105.40 points, down 68.68 points, or 0.26 percent, with turnover of 2.76 million shares.
The BR Cement Index declined 192.89 points, or 1.35 percent, to 14,068.31 points, with volume of 21.79 million shares.
The BR Commercial Banks Index ended at 58,007.99 points, losing 348.70 points, or 0.60 percent, on turnover of 104.59 million shares.
The BR Power Generation and Distribution Index fell 454.25 points, or 1.56 percent, to close at 28,622.28 points, while the BR Oil and Gas Index declined 92.75 points, or 0.60 percent, to 15,420.28 points. Meanwhile, the BR Technology and Communication Index slipped 33.31 points, or 0.76 percent, to 4,341.59 points, with total turnover of 163.17 million shares.
Overall, the market concluded the session on a corrective and cautious note, marked by profit-taking, declining volumes, and broad-based weakness across indices, even as strong year-to-date gains continued to signal underlying investor confidence in CY26.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026