KARACHI: Despite a rating upgrade, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday failed to extend the weekend’s recovery rally, as equity investors remained concerned about the Middle East situation amid a continued upward spiral in oil prices, stoking fears of a spike in inflation and political uncertainty, which forced the benchmark index to post marginal losses.
Topline Securities Ltd said the PSX opened on a bullish note, with the KSE-100 index surging to an intraday high of 956 points at 178,122.88 amid strong buying interest. However, momentum faded in the latter half of the session as profit-taking emerged, dragging the index to an intraday low of 430 points at 176,735.57.
However, the benchmark ultimately settled at 176,966.69, down 199.84 points, or 0.11 per cent, as late-session selling erased most of the day’s early gains.
On the positive side, Oil and Gas Development Company, Pakistan Petroleum, Maple Leaf Cement Factory, DG Khan Cement, and Fauji Cement Company were the major gainers, collectively adding around 391 points. Conversely, Engro Holdings, Meezan Bank, Service Industries, and Systems Ltd were the major laggards, collectively dragging the index down by 388 points.
Overall, the session reflected a tug-of-war between renewed buying interest and profit-taking, with late-session selling erasing most of the market’s early gains.
Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd, said the market recorded a slightly negative session despite Moody’s upgrading Pakistan’s credit rating to B3 from Caa1, while maintaining a stable outlook. Meanwhile, headline inflation for August is expected to rise to 11.1pc year-on-year, compared with 3pc year-on-year in August 2025.
Investor participation remained robust, with traded volume surging 35.45pc to 933.5 million shares and total turnover rising 23.67pc to Rs44bn. Cnergyico PK led the volume chart with 266m shares.
Analysts anticipate that short-term trading will likely stay within a range and remain volatile, with 175,000 serving as a critical initial support level. Ongoing macroeconomic improvements, such as Moody’s upgrade, are favourable, although rising inflation and geopolitical tensions could limit potential gains.
Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2026
