KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed lower on Friday as investors booked profits ahead of the weekend, taking cues from international markets.
The KSE-100 Index declined by 1,493.18 points, or 0.85 percent, to close at 173,886.69 points compared with 175,379.87 points in the previous session. During the day, the index moved within a range of 1,559.31 points, reaching an intraday high of 174,369.20 points and a low of 172,809.89 points.
Meanwhile, BRIndex100 closed at 19,126.67 points, declining by 209.73 points, or 1.08 percent, on a total volume of 497.756 million shares. BRIndex30 fell by 838.76 points, or 1.23 percent, to close at 67,561.99 points, with total volume standing at 237.702 million shares.
According to Topline Securities, investors took cues from international markets and preferred to book profits before the long weekend. UBL, LUCK, ENGROH, FFC and PPL were the major negative contributors, collectively weighing down the benchmark index by 606 points.
Ready-market activity registered a substantial increase in share volume despite a sharp contraction in traded value. Total turnover surged to 1.480 billion shares from 999.812 million shares in the previous session, representing an increase of 480.187 million shares, or 48.03 percent.
However, total traded value contracted to Rs. 22.572 billion from Rs. 46.062 billion, falling by Rs. 23.490 billion, or 50.99 percent.
Total market capitalisation decreased by Rs. 203.948 billion to Rs. 18.909 trillion from Rs. 19.113 trillion previously. Market breadth tilted negative, with 277 companies closing lower, 190 advancing and 33 remaining unchanged out of 500 active issues.
Bawany Air(R) dominated ready-market turnover with 687.381 million shares. The stock ended the day at Rs. 0.03 against the previous close of Rs. 0.62.
Tasdeeq Information followed with 140.784 million shares. It settled at Rs. 5.03 compared with Rs. 4.74 previously.
WorldCall Telecom recorded turnover of 72.155 million shares. The stock finished at Rs. 1.02 against the previous close of Rs. 0.94.
Among ready-market price gainers, Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited recorded the largest increase, rising by Rs. 291.00 to close at Rs. 25,994.00. Pakistan Services Limited followed, gaining Rs. 113.46 to settle at Rs. 1,248.07.
On the losing side, Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited recorded the largest decline, shedding Rs. 101.26 to finish at Rs. 8,399.99. Sapphire Textile Mills Limited followed, falling by Rs. 48.66 to close at Rs. 1,559.34.
Sectoral performance remained predominantly negative. The BR Automobile Assembler Index closed at 22,385.35 points, down 40.07 points, or 0.18 percent, on turnover of 2.290 million shares. The BR Cement Index shed 199.81 points, or 1.60 percent, to settle at 12,325.51 points, with turnover of 28.986 million shares.
The BR Commercial Banks Index declined by 597.08 points, or 0.97 percent, to close at 60,827.58 points, on turnover of 36.471 million shares. The BR Power Generation and Distribution Index decreased by 88.36 points, or 0.33 percent, to 26,310.24 points, with turnover of 40.668 million shares.
The BR Oil and Gas Index fell by 166.83 points, or 1.10 percent, to close at 15,024.93 points, on turnover of 29.489 million shares. The BR Tech. & Comm. Index declined by 37.91 points, or 1.21 percent, to settle at 3,100.46 points, with total turnover of 132.194 million shares.
Market participants expect the PSX to maintain a cautiously optimistic outlook, with near-term performance dependent on international commodity-price trends, global market sentiment and domestic institutional buying interest following the weekend pause.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026