Overview
- On Thursday, the KSE-100 jumped to 183,717.53 in early trade before slipping 69.29 points to 182,500.52 versus the prior close of 182,569.82.
- The benchmark had fallen 1,381.69 points on Wednesday to 182,569.82 as traders locked in gains and risk appetite faded.
- Warnings from unnamed international officials suggested possible U.S. military action in Iran and reported precautionary evacuations at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which kept risk perceptions elevated.
- Oil and gas names outperformed on higher crude expectations, with OGDC and Pakistan Petroleum advancing, while banks, cement, fertiliser, technology and power stocks faced broad selling.
- Market breadth and flows weakened with roughly 1.03 billion shares traded, about Rs66 billion in value and net foreign selling of Rs648.2 million, as Bloomberg’s outlook flagged inflation re-acceleration toward roughly 8% by 4QFY26 and a likely 10.5% SBP policy rate.