Pakistan Stock Exchange Slips as Global Oil Volatility and Inflation Concerns Weigh

October 03, 2026 (MLN): The KSE‑100 benchmark finished the week ending October 2, 2026 at 168,155.49 points, down 2,609.73 points (‑1.53%) from the 170,765.22 points recorded a week earlier on September 25, 2026.

The drop was driven by ongoing turbulence in global oil markets, fresh inflation worries, and continued uncertainty over the US‑Iran diplomatic stance, which left investors cautious and dampened buying interest on the Pakistan Stock Exchange.

Market Capitalization

The PSX’s market cap slipped to Rs 4.753 trillion for the week, down from Rs 4.805 trillion on September 25, 2026—a fall of roughly Rs 52.40 billion (‑1.09% week‑over‑week).

In U.S. dollar terms, the market cap fell from $17.336 billion to $17.153 billion, a decline of about $183.47 million (‑1.06% WoW).

The market’s USD‑adjusted return was ‑1.50%, versus ‑0.04% the prior week, indicating weaker performance once currency effects are considered.

On the macroeconomic front, Pakistan’s merchandise trade deficit widened 7.99% month‑over‑month to $3.56 billion in September 2026, as imports climbed 11.5% to $6.49 billion while exports rose 16.07% to $2.94 billion. In the first quarter of FY27, the deficit grew 15.13% year‑over‑year to $10.79 billion, with import expansion outpacing export growth.

Pakistan’s annual CPI inflation eased to 10.3% in September 2026 from 11.1% in August, while monthly inflation picked up to 1.3% from 1.2%, per PBS data. Average inflation for 1QFY27 stood at 10.2%, up from 4.3% a year earlier, and annual wholesale inflation rose to 13.3%.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) lifted its net foreign‑exchange purchases from the interbank market by 5.5% to $8.104 billion in FY26, up from $7.684 billion the previous year. The SBP also raised Rs 880.06 billion in the latest MTB auction, attracting bids of Rs 2.73 trillion, with cut‑off yields rising across the 3‑, 6‑ and 12‑month tenors.

Index Movers

Sector performance was broadly negative during the week. Commercial Banks led the decline on the KSE‑100, cutting 596.70 points, followed by Cement (‑427.49) and Oil & Gas Exploration (‑304.21).

Other notable decliners included Power Generation & Distribution (‑180.37), Technology & Communication (‑174.08), Miscellaneous (‑161.06), and Food & Personal Care Products (‑125.17).

Further down the list were Oil & Gas Marketing Companies (‑109.26), Pharmaceuticals (‑105.24), Investment Banks / Investment Companies / Securities Companies (‑101.72), Fertilizer (‑97.56), Automobile Assembler (‑92.90), Textile Composite (‑58.52), and Transport (‑26.51).

Additional sectors posting losses were Real Estate Investment Trust (‑22.51), Cable & Electrical Goods (‑21.96), Engineering (‑15.28), Property (‑13.99), Insurance (‑9.99), Glass & Ceramics (‑7.68), and Paper, Board & Packaging (‑5.46).

Chemical (‑5.00), Automobile Parts & Accessories (‑4.65), Modarabas (‑3.64), Apparel (‑2.28), Tobacco (‑1.62), Close‑End Mutual Funds (‑1.03), Textile Spinning (‑0.51), Woollen (‑0.28), Sugar & Allied Industries (‑0.19), and Leasing Companies (‑0.17) also contributed negatively.

On the positive side, Refinery topped the gainers with +44.42 points, followed by Leather & Tanneries (+19.42), Vanaspati & Allied Industries (+2.98), Textile Weaving (+0.28), and Synthetic & Rayon (+0.20).

Among individual stocks, ATRL led the upside with a gain of 66.79 points, followed by POL (31.95), TRG (24.31) and SRVI (19.42).

Additional contributors were MEBL (11.20), LOTCHEM (9.97), UPFL (9.39), AHCL (5.88), INDU (4.63), SSOM (2.98), KAPCO (1.63), SCBPL (1.51), PABC (0.96), ATLH (0.65), HALEON (0.64), YOUW (0.28) and IBFL (0.20).

On the downside, PPL led the losers, shaving 261.60 points, followed by UBL (−207.17), PSEL (−150.68), SYS (−121.35), HUBC (−114.73), HBL (−109.11), LUCK (−94.32), ENGROH (−89.69) and FCCL (−87.35).

Further decliners included MLCF (−76.51), FFC (−66.00), DGKC (−65.76), NBP (−62.17), PSO (−60.51), AKBL (−57.01), NESTLE (−56.71), PTC (−52.60), SAZEW (−45.37), HMB (−42.94), GAL (−41.00) and MARI (−37.62).

Additional losses came from OGDC (−36.94), NPL (−36.76), COLG (−36.67), SEARL (−36.55), CHCC (−35.67), NML (−33.92), BAHL (−30.36), EFERT (−28.77), BAFL (−28.17), KOHC (−27.10), PIBTL (−26.51) and GHNI (−25.46).

Further down the list: NATF (−25.17), AIRLINK (−22.47), CNERGY (−22.37), HINOON (−21.78), NCPL (−21.73), AGP (−20.72), BOP (−20.54), MCB (−18.59), FABL (−18.42), TPLRF1 (−17.97), ABOT (−16.01) and THCCL (−15.93).

Continuing: ILP (−15.54), LCI (−14.97), PIOC (−14.30), JVDC (−13.99), BML (−13.02), FFL (−12.16), SSGC (−12.06), PSX (−12.03), SHFA (−11.34), APL (−9.60), KEL (−8.78), FATIMA (−8.67) and POWER (−8.30).

Further losses: KTML (−8.23), TGL (−7.17), ISL (−5.98), MTL (−5.98), CPHL (−5.86), PKGS (−5.46), GLAXO (−4.95), THALL (−4.65), DCR (−4.54), FHAM (−3.64), MUREB (−3.20) and IMAGE (−2.28).

Finally: BWCL (−2.25), HUMNL (−1.97), ABL (−1.91), PAKT (−1.62), HGFA (−1.03), MEHT (−0.83), RMPL (−0.66), GHGL (−0.51), GADT (−0.51), BNWM (−0.28), JDWS (−0.19) and PGLC (−0.17).

FIPI/LIPI

Foreign investors were net buyers in the equity market during the week, purchasing Rs 110.72 million (≈$399,715). Overseas Pakistanis led the buying with Rs 509.63 million (≈$1.84 million), while foreign corporations posted net sales of Rs 393.96 million (≈$1.42 million).

Foreign individuals recorded net equity sales of Rs 4.94 million (≈$17,849).

When debt flows are included, foreign investors posted net purchases of Rs 109.17 million (≈$394,123). Overseas Pakistanis recorded net debt sales of Rs 1.55 million (≈$5,592).

On the domestic side, investors recorded net equity sales of Rs 110.72 million (≈$399,711), roughly offsetting foreign equity purchases.

Companies topped the list of local equity buyers, acquiring Rs 1.43 billion (≈$5.18 million), followed by individuals (Rs 1.25 billion, ≈$4.51 million) and NBFCs (Rs 9.98 million, ≈$36,024).

Meanwhile, mutual funds were the largest local equity sellers, offloading Rs 1.69 billion (≈$6.10 million), followed by broker‑proprietary trading (Rs 644.43 million, ≈$2.33 million),

Banks/DFIs (Rs 234.96 million, ≈$848,225), other organizations (Rs 184.53 million, ≈$666,179) and insurance companies (Rs 51.52 million, ≈$185,992).

In the debt market, banks/DFIs led net purchases at Rs 57.63 billion (≈$208.05 million), followed by other organizations (Rs 1.19 billion, ≈$4.29 million), individuals (Rs 205.53 million, ≈$741,972) and broker‑proprietary trading (Rs 163.69 million, ≈$590,944).

Meanwhile, mutual funds were the largest sellers in the debt market, offloading Rs 58.65 billion (≈$211.75 million), followed by insurance companies (Rs 530.36 million, ≈$1.91 million) and NBFCs (Rs 2.36 million, ≈$8,521).

Overall, foreign investors posted net purchases of Rs 109.17 million (≈$394,123) across equity and debt markets, while domestic investors recorded net sales of roughly Rs 109.17 million (≈$394,122), leaving the combined net flow almost neutral.

Source link