KARACHI: Pakistan’s stock market remained under pressure during the last week amid escalating geopolitical tensions and persistently high global oil prices.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index continued to exhibit volatility, declining by 1,309 points or 0.9 percent on a week-on-week basis to close at 150,398.70 points, compared with 151,707.52 points in the previous week,
The BRIndex100 opened at 16,952.50 points, closed at 16,721.22 points, with total weekly turnover of approximately 1.95 billion shares. Meanwhile, the BRIndex30 opened at 58,870.86 points and settled at 57,551.20 points, with turnover of around 1.37 billion shares, indicating sustained activity despite declining prices.
The index witnessed sharp swings throughout the week, reflecting fragile investor sentiment. Rising geopolitical risks in the Middle East kept Brent crude prices above USD100 per barrel throughout the week, heightening concerns over inflation and external account pressures for Pakistan, a net energy importer.
Despite the negative trend in equities, a key positive development emerged on the external front as Pakistan reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the third review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). The agreement paves the way for a USD1.2 billion tranche, subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board, offering some support to investor confidence and external stability.
Macroeconomic indicators presented a mixed picture during the week. The National Accounts Committee (NAC) reported that Pakistan’s economy expanded by 3.9 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of FY26, driven primarily by a recovery in industrial activity, with Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM) growing by 7.4 percent YoY. However, inflationary pressures remained a concern, with consumer inflation rising to 7.3 percent YoY in March 2026, marking the highest level since August 2024 and bringing average inflation for 9MFY26 to 5.7 percent.
Fiscal performance also came under scrutiny as the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) collected Rs1.2 trillion in taxes during March, falling short of its monthly target by Rs182 billion. On a cumulative basis, tax collection for 9MFY26 reached Rs9.9 trillion, missing the target by Rs610 billion, raising concerns over fiscal slippages and revenue mobilization challenges.
On the energy front, the government took a major policy step by passing on the impact of higher international oil prices to consumers, increasing petrol prices by Rs137 per litre and diesel prices by Rs184 per litre, effectively bringing an end to the subsidy regime. The move is expected to ease fiscal pressure but may further fuel inflationary trends in the near term.
In the money market, the government raised Rs753 billion through the latest Treasury bill auction, with yields increasing by 25 to 29 basis points across tenors, reflecting tightening liquidity conditions and evolving inflation expectations. Meanwhile, the State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves rose by USD6 million week-on-week to USD16.4 billion, providing some support to the external account.
Market capitalisation on the Pakistan Stock Exchange declined in line with the benchmark index, falling to Rs16.73 trillion ($59.93 billion) from Rs16.89 trillion (USD60.48 billion) in the previous week, representing a 1.0 percent decline in rupee terms and 0.9 percent in dollar terms.
Trading activity remained relatively stable with a slight improvement. Average daily traded volume on the ready board increased by 1.2 percent to 491.83 million shares, compared with 486.21 million shares in the previous week. In value terms, average daily turnover rose by 3.2 percent to Rs28.06 billion, while in dollar terms it increased by 3.3 percent to $100.51 million, indicating sustained investor participation.
Sector-wise performance remained largely negative, with only a few sectors managing to post gains. Refinery stocks led the gainers with an increase of 1.1 percent, followed by exploration and production (0.8 percent), chemicals (0.7 percent), autos (0.3 percent), banks (0.1 percent) and power (0.1 percent). On the downside, food (-0.6 percent), the KSE-100 index itself (-0.7 percent), cement (-0.9 percent), pharmaceuticals (-1.0 percent), oil marketing companies (-2.2 percent), fertiliser (-2.5 percent), technology and communication (-3.6 percent), engineering (-4.0 percent) and textile composite (-4.5 percent) sectors recorded losses.
In terms of volume contribution, the power sector led with 16 percent share, followed by technology and communication at 13 percent, banks at 12 percent, refinery at 9 percent, and investment banks at 8 percent, while other sectors collectively accounted for 42 percent of the total traded volume.
Among individual stocks, TRG Pakistan emerged as the top gainer, rising 16.1 percent, followed by Cnergyico PK up 11.4 percent, Attock Refinery gaining 9.0 percent, Bank AL Habib increasing 6.6 percent, Bank Alfalah up 6.0 percent, Bannu Woollen Mills rising 5.3 percent, and Habib Bank Limited advancing 4.9 percent.
On the losing side, Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan led the declines, falling 12.8 percent, followed by Ghandhara Tyre down 12.3 percent, Kohinoor Textile Mills declining 10.0 percent, Service Industries shedding 9.7 percent, Pak Elektron dropping 9.4 percent, TPL REIT Fund down 9.0 percent, and Ghani Automobile losing 8.7 percent.
Overall, the Pakistan equity market remained under pressure during the week as external risks, rising energy prices, fiscal challenges and tightening financial conditions continued to dampen investor sentiment.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026