The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed intense selling pressure on February 16, 2026, as the benchmark KSE-100 index plunged over 5,500 points during intra-day trading.
The index dropped by 5,504.75 points, or 3.06%, reaching 174,098.98 by 2:45 pm.
This sharp decline followed a weekly loss of around 2.5% the previous week, with the index closing at 179,603.73.
Triggers Behind the Sharp Sell-Off
Massive redemptions from mutual funds triggered heavy selling, led by a few large institutions.
Analyst Waqas Ghani from JS Global noted that these redemptions acted as the primary catalyst for the downturn.
Heightened political uncertainty and worsening security conditions, especially in Balochistan, further eroded investor confidence over the past week.
Sectoral and Stock Impacts
Broad-based selling hit major sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies, power generation, and refineries. Index-heavy stocks like OGDC, PPL, HBL, MCB, HUBCO, and MARI traded lower.
High-volume decliners included BOP (down 9.82%), KOSM (8.08%), and others like KEL and SSGC. Limited gainers appeared in stocks such as HUMNL (up 6.72%).
The market saw elevated trading activity in stocks like K-Electric, WorldCall Telecom, and Bank of Punjab. Other indices also fell sharply: BR100 down 3.45%, BR30 down 4.82%, and KSE30 down 2.97%. Amid the turmoil, the government announced potential relief packages for construction, property, and textile sectors soon.