KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw yet another negative session on Monday, with the benchmark seeing the fourth-largest fall in its history. Due to lower-than-expected corporate results and rising geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran, the KSE-100 index fell 5,479 points.
The benchmark KSE-100 index plunged by 5,478.63 points or 3.16 per cent to 167,691.08 points from 173,169.71 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 174,336.86 points, while the lowest was 166,886.63 points.
CEO of brokerage house Topline Securities Mohammed Sohail said in his post on X that the KSE-100, which is down 11 per cent from its peak of 189,000, has officially entered correction territory.
“Since June 2023 — when the index was at 40,000 and Pakistan secured support from the International Monetary Fund — the market rallied nearly 4.7x in what has been a historic bull run,” he added.
Sohail further explained that “during this period, the index has corrected 10 per cent+ three times (Dec 2023, May 2025, and now). In earlier cases, the market recovered as macro and political stability remained intact. This time as well, there is no major macro shock. The sell-off appears driven by above average foreign selling, Reko Diq related concerns, softer corporate results, and stock futures unwinding. At current forward PE levels of 8, valuations remain attractive.”
“An 11 per cent fall is a correction — not a bear market, he said”.
Ali Najib, deputy head of trading at Arif Habib Ltd, said the PSX commenced the week on a distinctly negative note, marking the fourth-largest single-day decline in history. The benchmark also breached the key psychological threshold of 170,000 on a closing basis, reflecting heightened market stress.
Investor sentiment remained fragile amid ongoing geopolitical tensions, uncertainty surrounding the upcoming IMF review, and mixed expectations from the corporate earnings season.
LUCK, FFC, ENGROH, UBL, MEBL, MARI, NBP, HUBC and PPL were the major laggards, collectively eroding 2,837 points from the index.He said, “The 170k level broke today comprehensively. Now, 165k is the next support level. Let’s see how the market reacts to it.”
The KSE-30 index decreased by 1,715.27 points, or 3.23 per cent, to 51,327.62 points from 53,042.90 points.Traded shares dropped by 76 million shares to 461.264 million shares from 537.645 million shares. The trading value increased to Rs24.935 billion from Rs23.79 billion. Market capitalisation narrowed to Rs18.971 trillion against Rs19.602 trillion. Of the 479 companies active in the session, 42 closed in green, 389 in red, and 48 remained unchanged.
The highest increase was recorded in SS Oil Mills Limited, which rose by Rs51.24 to Rs563.62 per share, followed by Pakistan Engineering Company Limited, which increased by Rs22.10 to Rs617.45 per share. A significant decline was noted in PIA Holding Company Limited B, which fell by Rs361.50 to Rs16,495.50 per share. Sapphire Textile Mills Limited followed it, which closed lower by Rs134.19 to Rs1,239 per share.
Muhammad Hasan Ather, an analyst at JS Global, said the sell-off was primarily triggered by escalating US-Iran geopolitical tensions and the start of the futures roll-over period, which fuelled intraday volatility and risk-off sentiment.
Mixed economic indicators and weak corporate earnings further dampened investor appetite. “We can expect persistent volatility in the near term, until diplomatic friction eases or fresh positive triggers emerge, with the market likely remaining range-bound with a bearish bias,” he said.
K-Electric Ltd remained the volume leader with 36.062 million shares, which closed lower by 37 paisas to Rs7.66 per share. WorldCall Telecom with 33.673 million shares, followed it, which closed down by 6 paisas to Rs1.32 per share.
Other significant turnover stocks included B.O. Punjab, F. Nat. Equities, Trust Sec. & Bro. (R), PTCL, Pak Int. Bulk, National Bank XD, Cnergyico PK and Hascol Petrol. In the futures market, 336 companies recorded trading, with 11 increasing and 325 decreasing.
