Karachi – The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a sharp decline after the volatility on the last trading day of the week, where the index of companies operating according to Sharia principles, ‘KMI 30’, recorded a decline of more than 1,300 points. According to economic analysts, the ongoing macroeconomic situation at the country level and the profit-taking policy of investors pushed the market into the negative zone. This major correction on Friday has also affected the overall market capitalisation.
According to the details, on May 22, 2026, the KMI 30 index opened at 243,940.95 points. In the initial part of the trading session, the index tried to maintain a positive trend to some extent and touched a high of 243,973.49 points. However, this rally proved to be temporary, and the market quickly turned downwards due to institutional selling pressure in major sectors, especially cement and fertilisers. During this bearish wave, the index had at one point fallen to a low of 240,505.33 points. At the end of the session, the index recovered slightly and closed at 241,041.17, down 1,308.61 points or 0.54 percent.
Looking at the policy and market fundamentals, the index’s Financial Year to Date (FYTD) performance is still in a strong position at 30.37 percent, reflecting investors’ confidence in long-term economic growth. However, the market has faced a negative performance of 3.02 percent during the current calendar year (CYTD), which is a cause for concern for short-term investors. The total trading volume of the index on Friday was recorded at 72.56 million shares.
If we look at the shares of individual companies, some companies successfully tried to support the index even in this storm of decline. From the fertilizer sector, EFERT (EFERT) performed brilliantly and added the most to the index by 95.89 points. This was followed by Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) adding 76.77 points, Airlink (AIRLINK) adding 11.59 points, Ghandhara Nissan (GHNI) adding 8.11 points and Fatima Fertilizers (FFL) adding 5.03 points.
On the contrary, Lucky Cement (LUCK) was the top dragger of the market, causing a huge loss of 205.60 points to the index. Engro Fertilizers (ENGROH) lost 175.85 points, System Limited (SYS) lost 159.17 points, OGDC lost 148.64 points and Pakistan State Oil (PSO) lost 106.53 points, negatively impacting the market. According to The Nation’s policy, the consolidation of the corporate sector is essential for economic independence, and experts are calling this temporary decline a necessary correction for a long-term healthy market.
