KARACHI: Amid persistent geopolitical tensions, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained under selling pressure, dragging the benchmark KSE-100 index below the 149,000-point level intraday.
However, late value-buying helped the market trim early losses and settle above the 150,000-point milestone amid mixed developments on the economic front, including better growth numbers for the second quarter and an unprecedented increase in petrol and diesel prices, which has taken the industry and the masses aback.
The National Accounts Committee reported that the country recorded a slight improvement in its gross domestic product, expanding by 3.89 per cent in the October-December quarter of 2025-26, compared with 2.18pc in the same period last year. The performance was slightly better than the revised 3.63pc recorded in the first quarter (July-September), despite a mild slowdown in the agriculture and industrial sectors.
Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd, said the PSX witnessed another negative session as the index declined by 1,612.55 points, or 1.06 per cent, to close at 150,398.71.
Late value-buying trims losses despite fuel shock
Following the government’s decision to withdraw the fuel subsidy, under which diesel prices were increased by 55pc and petrol prices by 43pc, investors’ sentiment was dampened in anticipation of a hike in inflation and interest rates going forward.
On the macro front, the government raised petrol prices to Rs458.38 and diesel to Rs520.35 per litre, transitioning from a blanket subsidy to a more targeted approach. Notably, prices had been maintained for three weeks through a subsidy of Rs129bn ($462 million).
On the corporate front, Barrick Gold indicated a slowdown in development activity at the Reko Diq project, with a review expected to continue until mid-2027.
Market breadth remained weak, with 21 advancing stocks against 79 decliners. Gains were led by Attock Refinery, Meezan Bank, and Pakistan Oilfields, while major drags included United Bank, Engro Holdings, and Fauji Fertiliser.
In the bearish market, trading volume increased by 33.97pc to 469.3 million shares, suggesting investors rushed to offload their positions to avert major losses. The traded value also rose by 26.29pc to Rs24.6bn.
Topline Securities Ltd said the key negative contributors were United Bank, Engro Holdings, Fauji Fertiliser, Systems Ltd, and Lucky Cement, which collectively wiped out 1,100 points from the benchmark index.
Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2026