KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended its losses on Friday as persistent geopolitical uncertainty and position-squaring ahead of the weekend kept investors cautious, pushing the index in red despite a brief intraday recovery.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index fell by 1,549.44 points, or 0.95 percent, to close at 162,374.88 points against 163,924.32 points in the previous session. During the day, the index moved within a range of 1,674.42 points, reaching an intraday high of 163,966.86 points and a low of 162,292.44 points.
BRIndex100 closed at 17,802.15 points, losing 178.95 points, or 1.00 percent, with a total turnover of 258.416 million shares. On the other hand, BRIndex30 fell by 942.98 points, or 1.47 percent, to close at 63,026.94 points. The total volume on BRIndex30 stood at 132.912 million shares.
According to Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Limited, the market remained volatile and traded in both directions amid cautious investor sentiment, with renewed selling pressure emerging after a brief recovery. He said MEBL, ENGROH, LUCK, HUBC, PPL, MCB, SYS, NBP, OGDC and HBL were the major laggards, collectively eroding 985 points from the benchmark.
Sectoral performance remained predominantly negative, with technology and communication, automobile assemblers, power generation and distribution, cement, commercial banks, and oil and gas all ending lower.
Ready-market activity increased in terms of both share volume and traded value, despite the decline in benchmark indices. Total turnover stood at 398.943 million shares compared with 367.094 million shares in the previous session, representing an increase of 31.849 million shares, or 8.68 percent.
The total traded value expanded to Rs. 18.203 billion from Rs. 17.998 billion, an increase of Rs. 0.205 billion, or 1.14 percent.
However, the increase in trading activity did not prevent a further contraction in the market’s overall capitalisation. Total market capitalisation declined by Rs. 159.159 billion to Rs. 18.014 trillion from Rs. 18.173 trillion in the preceding session.
Market breadth remained heavily tilted towards declining stocks, with 311 companies closing lower, 136 advancing and 48 remaining unchanged out of 495 active issues.
Pervez Ahmed Co led ready-market turnover with 32.671 million shares. The stock closed at Rs. 3.33 against the previous close of Rs. 3.02. MACPAC Films followed with 26.687 million shares. It settled at Rs. 59.25 compared with Rs. 65.83 previously. Meanwhile, Pak Refinery recorded turnover of 23.500 million shares. The stock closed at Rs. 94.52 against the previous close of Rs. 95.12.
Among ready-market price gainers, PIA Holding Company LimitedB recorded the largest increase, rising by Rs. 375.23 to close at Rs. 14,001.99. Pakistan Engineering Company Limited followed, gaining Rs. 70.00 to settle at Rs. 819.15.
On the losing side, Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited recorded the largest decline, shedding Rs. 2,726.42 to finish at Rs. 26,376.79. Khairpur Sugar Mills Limited followed, falling by Rs. 172.82 to close at Rs. 1,555.35.
The BR Automobile Assembler Index closed at 20,962.21 points, down 305.00 points, or 1.43 percent, on turnover of 1.423 million shares. The BR Cement Index shed 127.44 points, or 1.14 percent, to settle at 11,029.37 points, with 26.571 million shares traded.
The BR Commercial Banks Index declined by 481.58 points, or 0.85 percent, to close at 56,327.80 points on turnover of 17.246 million shares. The BR Power Generation and Distribution Index fell by 327.00 points, or 1.33 percent, to 24,212.72 points, with 16.318 million shares traded.
The BR Oil and Gas Index lost 145.04 points, or 0.99 percent, to finish at 14,524.98 points, recording turnover of 13.433 million shares. The BR Tech. & Comm. Index declined by 59.52 points, or 1.94 percent, to close at 3,002.96 points, with 63.300 million shares traded.
Concluding the session, Ali Najib said the market was likely to remain volatile within the 160,000–168,000-point range amid cautious investor sentiment, evolving macroeconomic factors and geopolitical developments. He noted that particular attention would be focused on the Monetary Policy Committee’s announcement scheduled for Monday, with market participants expecting a 50-basis-point increase in the benchmark interest rate.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026