Karachi: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a bearish trend at the end of the trading week on Friday, May 15, 2026, with the KMI-30 Index recording a significant decline. The index closed at 238,952.40 points, down 1,388.17 points, from the opening price of 240,987.19 points.
During the market, the KMI-30 Index touched a high of 241,092.05 points and a low of 238,253.73 points, reflecting investor uncertainty and selling pressure. Overall, the index saw a decline of 0.58 percent, while the total trading volume of companies included in the index stood at 97 million shares.
According to financial experts, global oil price fluctuations, pressure on the rupee and cautious strategies of local investors affected the market trend. In the market, large shares of energy, fertilizer and banking sectors were under pressure.
ENGRO was the top detractor in the market, pushing the index down by 650.53 points. Similarly, FFC contributed 249.38 points, LUCK 221.38 points, and OGDC 126.77 points, while MEBL contributed 106.41 points.
On the other hand, some companies also tried to support the market. SAZEW showed significant performance with a positive contribution of 187.30 points, while ATRL contributed 42.83 points, PSO 32.31 points, NRL 31.06 points and SYS 27.26 points.
Market analysts say that investors are keeping a close eye on the federal budget, interest rate decisions and economic indicators next week. According to them, if there are positive announcements related to economic stability, the market can see a rebound.
Experts added that the performance of the KMI-30 index on a year-to-date (FYTD) basis is still 29.24 percent positive, which indicates that the confidence of long-term investors has not completely disappeared. However, on a calendar year-to-date (CYTD) basis, the index is in the negative zone of 3.86 percent.
According to broking houses, the market is likely to remain volatile during the next few sessions as investors await developments related to the global economic situation, the IMF programme and the domestic political environment.
Analysts have advised investors to adopt a cautious strategy and focus on long-term investments in fundamentally strong companies.
