KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed another volatile and largely lackluster trading session on Tuesday, with equities coming under renewed selling pressure as investors remained wary of escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and uncertainty over the future of US-Iran negotiations, forcing the benchmark index to settle in the red.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index closed at 168,916.22 points, posting a decline of 1,590.09 points or 0.93 percent compared to the previous close of 170,506.31 points, according to official PSX data.
During the session, the market remained highly volatile, touching an intraday high of 171,571.56 points before slipping to an intraday low of 168,823.32 points, highlighting investor nervousness amid rapidly evolving geopolitical developments.
The BRIndex100 closed at 18,587.20 points, down 148.23 points or 0.79 percent, with total traded volume standing at 713.269 million shares.
The BRIndex30 settled at 67,311.40 points, losing 743.10 points or 1.09 percent, while turnover stood at 492.895 million shares.
Market analysts attributed the subdued sentiment to persistent geopolitical risks after US President Donald Trump reportedly remarked that the fragile ceasefire was on “massive life support” following the rejection of Tehran’s latest peace proposal, intensifying fears of renewed instability in the region.
Quoting Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Limited, market momentum remained fragile throughout the day as aggressive rhetoric from US and Iranian officials heightened concerns about further escalation, while the lack of progress in peace negotiations weighed heavily on investor confidence.
Najib said the benchmark index slipped below the psychologically important 170,000-point level, as uncertainty surrounding diplomatic developments continued to dominate market direction. He, however, noted a positive macroeconomic development, stating that Pakistan’s services exports increased by 17.05 percent during the first nine months of FY26, primarily supported by the continued strong performance of the information technology sector.
He added that major index-heavy stocks including UBL, LUCK, ENGROH, HBL, HUBC, SYS, MLCF, NBP and MCB remained under pressure and collectively erased 723 points from the benchmark index.
Trading activity remained relatively strong despite the negative close. In the ready market, total turnover stood at 1.017 billion shares, lower than 1.103 billion shares traded a day earlier. The traded value in the ready market improved to Rs32.032 billion compared to Rs31.045 billion in the previous session.
Market capitalization witnessed a decline of Rs184.72 billion, shrinking from Rs18.870 trillion to Rs18.685 trillion, reflecting the bearish undertone prevailing across equities.
Market breadth remained decisively negative as only 106 companies advanced, while 346 declined and 33 remained unchanged out of a total 485 traded companies in the ready market.
Among volume leaders in the ready market, Cnergyico PK topped the chart with trading of 154.128 million shares, closing at Rs8.81. Hascol Petroleum followed with 113.571 million shares, closing sharply lower at Rs22.32 from Rs24.73, while K-Electric Limited recorded turnover of 107.548 million shares, ending at Rs8.57.
Among gainers, Khairpur Sugar Mills Limited posted the highest increase, surging Rs98.38 to close at Rs1,082.21, followed by Premium Textile Mills Limited, which gained Rs32.00 to settle at Rs500.00. On the losing side, PIA Holding Company Limited B emerged as the top laggard, plunging Rs599.00 to close at Rs18,801.00, while Pakistan Foods Limited shed Rs324.00 to settle at Rs26,268.00.
Among sectoral indices, the BR Automobile Assembler Index closed at 27,214.25 points, shedding 228.02 points or 0.83 percent, with turnover of 11.394 million shares. The BR Cement Index suffered a sharper decline of 267.44 points or 2.28 percent to settle at 11,483.11 points, with volume of 26.565 million shares.
The BR Commercial Banks Index lost 536.34 points or 0.93 percent to close at 56,864.29 points, while turnover reached 39.938 million shares. The BR Power Generation and Distribution Index declined 350.72 points or 1.24 percent to 27,896.49 points, with traded volume of 118.158 million shares.
Likewise, the BR Oil and Gas Index slipped 114.73 points or 0.77 percent to close at 14,833.65 points, recording turnover of 132.167 million shares, while the BR Technology and Communication Index edged down 4.14 points or 0.11 percent to settle at 3,817.04 points, with turnover of 142.773 million shares.
Looking ahead, Ali Najib said developments surrounding US-Iran relations will remain the key determinant of near-term market direction. Although no formal round of talks has yet been announced, continued diplomatic engagement and backchannel communications suggest negotiations may continue in the near term, keeping investors highly sensitive to geopolitical headlines.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026