KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange extended its volatile streak on Thursday as investor sentiment remained fragile amid persistent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and uncertainty in global energy markets, prompting cautious trading across most sectors.
The KSE-100 Index faced a volatile trading session today, ultimately closing in negative territory at 154,421.43 points, down 1,437.05 points or 0.92 percent. The index opened under pressure and briefly rebounded during mid-session trading, reaching an intraday high of 157,080.29 points, but selling pressure returned, pushing it to a low of 153,503.70 points before the close.
The BRIndex100 closed at 17,412.55 points, down 195.73 points or 1.11 percent, with a total traded volume of approximately 281.27 million shares. Similarly, the BRIndex30 settled at 60,622.14 points, declining 1,027.99 points or 1.67 percent on a total trading volume of about 194.54 million shares.
According to the Topline Sales Desk, selective buying was observed in index-heavy stocks, with Engro Holdings, Systems Limited, Service Industries Limited, Engro Fertilizers, and Hinopak Motors collectively adding around 745 points to the benchmark. However, these gains were offset by heavy selling in United Bank Limited, Lucky Cement, Oil and Gas Development Company, Hub Power Company, and MCB Bank, which collectively subtracted 972 points. Analysts noted that ongoing uncertainty over the Middle East conflict, coupled with concerns over potential oil supply disruptions and inflationary pressures, kept investors cautious. Market activity remained subdued compared with previous sessions, reflecting selective buying rather than broad-based accumulation.
The bearish sentiment dominated the trading floor as all major indices closed in negative territory, with a wave of selling pressure resulting in total market capitalization contracting from Rs17.535 trillion to Rs17.366 trillion, marking a single-day loss of approximately Rs168.6 billion.
In the Ready Market, 157 companies gained compared with 252 that fell and 62 that remained unchanged, out of a total of 471 traded issues. The total Ready Market turnover reached 404.25 million shares with a traded value of Rs24.67 billion, slightly below the previous session’s Rs24.98 billion.
The day’s volume leaders were dominated by energy and financial stocks, with Hascol Petrol trading 38.33 million shares to close at 17.46. K-Electric recorded 38.05 million shares, ending at 7.59, while Dost Steels saw 25.14 million shares traded to close at 5.50.
The BR Automobile Assembler Index fell 463.11 points or 1.96 percent to 23,201.74, with turnover of 817,933 shares. The BR Cement Index closed at 10,116.60 points, down 281.79 points or 2.71 percent on 30.11 million shares.
The BR Commercial Banks Index lost 988.32 points or 1.84 percent to finish at 52,788.39, with 37.32 million shares traded, while the BR Power Generation and Distribution Index slid 507.99 points or 1.94 percent to 25,647.94 on 61.68 million shares.
The BR Oil and Gas Index, sensitive to global energy markets, settled at 13,507.29 points, down 228.87 points or 1.67 percent on 54.39 million shares. The BR Technology and Communication Index was the sole sector to close in positive territory, rising 88.76 points or 2.84 percent to 3,213.17, with turnover of 52.87 million shares.
Analysts indicated that unless geopolitical tensions ease and global markets stabilize, the market is likely to continue witnessing volatile and range-bound trading in the near term.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026