The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a turbulent trading session on Thursday as the benchmark KSE-100 Index closed with a notable decline, ending the day at 168,574.69 points, down 877.17 points or 0.52%. After weeks of strong upward momentum, investors opted for profit-taking, triggering a broad-based selloff across major sectors.
Volatility Dominates: Index Swings Over 1,700 Points:
The market remained highly volatile throughout the session. The KSE-100 surged to an intraday high of 170,301.48 points (+849.62), but heavy selling pressure later dragged it down to an intraday low of 168,548.45 points (-903.41) a massive swing of 1,753 points.
The benchmark index recorded a strong activity level, trading 656.55 million shares, reflecting sustained investor participation despite the bearish close.
Market Breadth Turns Negative:
Out of the 100 companies on the index:
• 30 stocks closed higher
• 68 declined
• 2 remained unchanged
The day clearly belonged to the sellers.
Top Performers & Major Losers:
Top Gainers
Despite the decline, a few stocks delivered impressive gains:
• NML (+10.00%)
• KAPCO (+10.00%)
• SSGC (+7.50%)
• GADT (+7.17%)
• PABC (+5.30%)
Top Losers
Several major names came under intense pressure:
• ISL (-6.62%)
• PKGP (-6.51%)
• PSEL (-5.80%)
• INIL (-5.75%)
• DHPL (-5.33%)
Who Moved the Index? Key Contributors:
Top Negative Contributors
• FFC (-232.66 pts)
• LUCK (-150.29 pts)
• HBL (-97.52 pts)
• PSEL (-85.26 pts)
• HUBC (-63.40 pts)
Top Positive Contributors
• ENGROH (+86.63 pts)
• NML (+86.60 pts)
• OGDC (+57.57 pts)
• KAPCO (+49.60 pts)
• AICL (+37.86 pts)
These gains helped cushion what could have been a steeper fall.
Sector-Wise Performance: Cement & Banking Under Pressure:
A deeper breakdown shows that multiple heavyweight sectors dragged the index into the red:
Sectors Pulling the Index Down
• Cement (-343.52 pts)
• Fertilizer (-264.87 pts)
• Commercial Banks (-253.96 pts)
• Miscellaneous (-70.31 pts)
• Engineering (-64.48 pts)
Sectors Providing Support
• Textile Composite (+108.80 pts)
• Oil & Gas Exploration (+57.15 pts)
• Investment Banks / Securities (+48.09 pts)
• Insurance (+37.86 pts)
• Technology & Communication (+26.22 pts)
Broader Market Also Slips:
The overall market followed a similar trend.
The All-Share Index closed at 102,171.27 points, losing 383.53 points or 0.37%.
• Total market volume: 1,288.97 million shares (higher than yesterday’s 1,190.53m)
• Traded value: Rs 55.23 billion (up Rs 4.74 billion)
• Total trades: 429,816 across 485 companies
Among these:
• 189 stocks advanced
• 257 declined
• 39 remained unchanged
Despite Today’s Drop, KSE-100 Still on a Stellar Run:
Even with Thursday’s correction, the market’s bigger story remains overwhelmingly positive. The KSE-100 has gained:
• +42,947 points (34.19%) in FY 2025-26
• +53,448 points (46.43%) in CY 2025
This makes PSX one of the world’s strongest performing equity markets this year.