First time in 23 months: foreign investors emerge as net buyers at PSX in July 2026

Foreign investors turned net buyers at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) for the first time in 23 months, pumping a net $34.4 million into equities in July 2026 despite the benchmark KSE-100 Index declining 2.3% during the month.

“Foreigners remained net buyers, recording net inflows of $34.4 million in July 2026, first time in 23 months,” AKD Securities Director Research Muhammad Awais Ashraf reported citing the data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL).

• Net buyers are investors whose total share purchases exceed their total share sales.

“Majority of the sectors witnessed net buying, with banks and oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) attracting the largest inflows of $13.8 million and $6.7 million, respectively [from foreign investors in July 2026] .”

Meanwhile, AHL Research reported that foreign investors injected another net $1.7 million in fertiliser sector, and $1.2 million in oil marketing companies (OMCs) in the month. They made the highest net investment of $17.7 million in other sectors.

On the other hand, foreign investors pulled out net $3.6 million from technology stocks, $2.7 million from power stocks, and sold cement and textile stocks for net $0.2 million each in the month.

According to NCCPL data, foreign investors including overseas Pakistanis bought shares worth $322.3 million in the month and sold worth $287.9 million, emerging as net buyer of the stocks worth $34.4 million in July 2026 - the first month of the current fiscal year 2026-27 in Pakistan.

In the prior 22 months, foreign investors continued to remain net sellers of stocks in the range of $12 million to $279 million in each month.

AHL Research reported the KSE 100 Index shed 4,208 points, or dropped by 2.3%, in July 2026 to close at 176,094 points, “as geopolitical tensions kept investor confidence on edge throughout the month”.

Giving sector wise performance of KSE-100 Index, the research house said the sectors contributing positive points in the index included banks, refinery, synthetic, and tobacco.

On the other hand, the sectors that contributed negative points in the index included E&P, cement, fertiliser, and technology. The performance of auto assemblers, textiles and auto parts manufacturers remained muted in the month under review.

In July 2026, average trading volumes reached 845.1 million shares, up by 1% month-on-month. The average total traded value was $134.9 million, with a 5% month-on-month decrease in US dollar terms.