KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) staged a modest recovery on Thursday as select buying helped the market regain lost ground following the previous session’s sharp sell-off. Sentiment improved across most segments, allowing benchmark indices to close higher by the end of the session.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index rose by 654.90 points, or 0.35 percent, to close at 187,688.16 points, compared with the previous close of 187,033.27 points. The index remained volatile throughout the day, touching an intraday high of 188,106.82 points and a low of 186,825.62 points, reflecting continued repositioning by investors after recent market swings.
On Thursday, the BRIndex100 closed at 20,338.87 points, up by 99.31 points, or 0.49 percent, compared with the previous close. Total turnover in the index stood at 768.56 million shares. The BRIndex30 also ended higher, closing at 64,784.38 points, gaining 131 points, or 0.20 percent, with a total volume of 545.36 million shares.
According to Topline Market Review, trading remained volatile throughout the session, with the KSE-100 Index fluctuating before closing in positive territory. Market sentiment improved primarily on the back of falling T-bill yields, which encouraged selective buying in index-heavy stocks. Key heavyweights, including Engro Holdings, Hub Power Company, Engro Fertilizers, Attock Refinery Limited and Askari Insurance, collectively added 606 points to the benchmark index. However, these gains were partially offset by losses in United Bank Limited, Habib Bank Limited and Bank of Punjab, which together wiped out 174 points from the index.
Market breadth remained positive. In the Ready Market, 238 stocks advanced, 201 declined, and 47 remained unchanged, out of 486 traded companies.
Trading volumes declined from the previous session, indicating more selective participation. Ready Market turnover stood at 1.069 billion shares, compared with 1.326 billion shares a day earlier, while traded value fell to Rs49.15 billion from Rs69.58 billion. However, market capitalization increased to Rs21.185 trillion, up from Rs21.133 trillion, suggesting a net expansion in market value despite lower volumes.
Activity in the Ready Market was concentrated in energy, banking and industrial stocks. K-Electric Limited dominated the volume chart with 195.89 million shares, closing at Rs7.10. Hascol Petroleum Limited followed with 131.52 million shares, though the stock fell sharply to close at Rs26.11. Bank Makramah Limited traded 57.61 million shares and closed at Rs5.21, while Cnergyico PK Limited ended at Rs7.99 on a volume of 33.09 million shares.
On the price board, Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited emerged as the top gainer, rising by Rs88.63 to close at Rs9,989.23, while Hoechst Pakistan Limited gained Rs83.02 to end at Rs4,368.02. On the losing side, Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited dropped by Rs234.25 to close at Rs27,989.75, followed by Supernet Technologies Limited, which declined by Rs23.91 to Rs1,326.09.
Among sectoral indices, the BR Automobile Assembler Index closed at 26,694.70 points, posting a net gain of 143.72 points, or 0.54 percent, on a turnover of 3.31 million shares. The BR Cement Index rose by 94.48 points, or 0.67 percent, to close at 14,152.52 points, with a total volume of 66.33 million shares.
In contrast, the BR Commercial Banks Index declined by 151.25 points, or 0.26 percent, to close at 57,907.65 points, despite recording a turnover of 90.60 million shares. The BR Power Generation and Distribution Index outperformed most sectors, surging by 315.80 points, or 1.07 percent, to settle at 29,735.98 points, with a robust turnover of 224.77 million shares.
The BR Oil and Gas Index remained largely flat, edging down by 0.98 points, or 0.01 percent, to close at 16,443.83 points, on a volume of 159.19 million shares, while the BR Technology and Communication Index slipped by 12.43 points, or 0.29 percent, to end at 4,216.30 points, with a turnover of 76.06 million shares.
Overall, the session reflected a cautious recovery as investors selectively returned to the market following the previous day’s losses. While energy and select mid-tier stocks provided support, weakness in banking shares and lower trading volumes indicated that sentiment remained guarded amid ongoing market volatility.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026