Pakistan Stock Exchange Faces Continued Pressure Amid Heightened US‑Iran Tensions

KARACHI – The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) experienced a challenging session on Wednesday as investor sentiment remained subdued amid renewed tensions between the United States and Iran, leading to cautious trading and broad-based selling across key sectors.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index fell by 903.12 points, or 0.53 percent, closing at 169,427.44 points compared to 170,330.56 points at the previous close. The market displayed volatility throughout the day, reaching an intraday high of 170,729.57 points and a low of 169,346.38 points before settling lower.

The BRIndex100 ended at 18,702.74 points, down 123.24 points (0.65 percent), with a total turnover of 554.00 million shares. The BRIndex30 closed at 68,155.90 points, a decline of 513.92 points (0.75 percent) on a turnover of 295.11 million shares.

According to Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Limited, the session was mixed, with the KSE-100 slipping below the 170,000-point threshold. He noted that investor confidence remained weak as the renewed US‑Iran tensions weighed on market sentiment, prompting many traders to stay on the sidelines.

Najib highlighted that companies such as BAHL, UBL, MCB, ENGROH, OGDC, HBL, HUBC, LUCK, SYS and FFC were the main laggards, collectively dragging the index down by roughly 700 points. He added that geopolitical developments would continue to shape market direction in the near term, with uncertainty surrounding the US‑Iran situation likely to keep volatility elevated.

Despite the price decline, trading activity remained strong. In the regular market, total turnover rose to 791.64 million shares from 767.45 million in the previous session, although traded value fell to Rs25.48 billion from Rs27.18 billion.

Overall market capitalization contracted to Rs18.85 trillion from Rs18.91 trillion, reflecting a loss of nearly Rs59.8 billion in listed equity value amid the prevailing bearish sentiment and broad decline in share prices.

Market breadth was negative across all segments. In the ready market, 191 companies advanced, 258 declined, and 39 remained unchanged out of 488 traded companies.

Volume concentration was seen in a few highly traded stocks. TPL Properties led the volume chart with 64.04 million shares, followed by TPL Corp Limited (40.65 million shares) and Telecard Limited (40.41 million shares). Loads Limited traded 33.99 million shares, while Oilboy Energy exchanged 30.16 million shares.

In terms of gains, Sapphire Textile Mills Limited topped the list, rising by Rs120.20 to close at Rs1,514.13, followed by Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited, which increased by Rs102.76 to settle at Rs9,547.15.

On the downside, PIA Holding Company Limited-B saw the steepest decline, falling by Rs1,212.00 to close at Rs17,178.00. Sindh Abadgars Sugar Mills Limited also posted a decline of Rs31.71, closing at Rs374.30.

Sectoral BR indices also reflected pressure: the BR Automobile Assembler Index fell by 47.13 points (0.17 percent) to 27,198.84 points; the BR Cement Index dropped 57.70 points (0.49 percent) to 11,813.46 points. The BR Commercial Banks Index decreased 454.60 points (0.80 percent) to 56,509.26 points, while the BR Power Generation and Distribution Index shed 201.31 points (0.73 percent) to 27,539.35 points.

The BR Oil and Gas Index declined 67.95 points (0.46 percent) to 14,816.01 points, and the BR Tech & Communication Index fell 40.45 points (1.04 percent) to 3,861.20 points.

Market participants are likely to remain focused on developments in the Middle East, particularly the evolving US‑Iran situation, which continues to influence risk appetite, foreign market trends, and commodity prices.

Analysts believe that until greater geopolitical clarity emerges, investor sentiment will remain cautious and the local bourse may continue to experience heightened volatility.

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