Karachi: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a bearish trend on Friday, May 15, 2026, the last day of the trading week, when the KSE-100 index closed with a significant decline of 902.76 points. The market was under pressure throughout the day due to cautious strategies by investors and selling pressure on large shares.
At the end of the market, the KSE-100 index closed at 165,596.07 points, while trading opened at 166,890.04 points. During trading, the index touched a high of 166,924.48 points and a low of 165,291.53 points. Overall, the index recorded a decline of 0.54 per cent.
According to Pakistan Stock Exchange data, the total volume of shares of companies included in the index was 264.75 million, which indicates limited interest from investors. According to experts, global financial uncertainty, domestic economic pressures and cautious positioning of investors ahead of the budget are the major reasons for the market downturn.
The biggest negative impact on the market was caused by the share of ENGRO, which pushed the index down by 227.99 points. Similarly, UBL contributed 144.31 points, FFC 136.12 points, and BAHL 127.34 points, while LUCK contributed 77.59 points.
On the other hand, a few companies also tried to support the market. SAZEW provided a positive contribution of 65.64 points, while MCB provided 27.26 points, BAFL 19.85 points, POL 17.04 points and BOP provided positive support of 16.43 points.
According to financial analysts, investors are currently keeping a close eye on the federal budget, possible changes in interest rates, rupee appreciation and developments related to the IMF programme. They say that if economic indicators improve, confidence in the market can be restored.
According to the data, the performance of the KSE-100 index on a fiscal year-to-date (FYTD) basis is still 31.82 per cent positive, which shows the strength of the market on a long-term basis. However, on a calendar year-to-date (CYTD) basis, the index is in the negative zone of 4.86 per cent.
Economists say that in the current situation, investors are taking a cautious approach, and most of the focus is mainly on strong companies. According to them, the banking, energy and fertiliser sectors will play an important role in determining the direction of the market in the coming days as well.
Broking houses have advised investors to adopt a long-term investment strategy instead of being affected by short-term fluctuations so that they can benefit from a possible recovery in the future.
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