Pakistan’s benchmark index, KSE-100, was trading in the red during early intraday trading on Tuesday, down 2,262.95 points by 10:30am.
The index has already witnessed a volatile trading session, swinging between an intraday high of 169,237.51 points and a low of 165,185.08 points before the midday mark.
The top active stocks were led by Hascol Petroleum Limited, declining 6.88 per cent to Rs16.10 at a volume of 25,404,479, followed by Bank of Punjab, falling 5.50pc to Rs28.53 at a volume of 19,130,495, and Worldcall Telecom Limited, falling 1.51pc to Rs1.30.
This 1.35pc fall from its previous close of 167,691.08 points comes on the heels of the index’s bloodbath on Monday, the third major meltdown at the PSX in the past two weeks, with the KSE-100 losing 5,149.80 points on February 16 and 6,683 points, the steepest single-day decline in history, on February 19.
Mohammad Sohail, CEO of Topline Securities, noted that the market is in “correction mode.” He stated that the current sell-off “appears to be driven by above-average foreign selling, Reko Diq-related concerns, softer corporate results, and stock futures unwinding”.
Interestingly, he cautions against deeming this as a bearish market, calling it an “11pc correction instead”.
AKD Securities believed that geopolitical developments and the outcome of the upcoming IMF review mission, due to arrive next week, will be crucial in determining investor sentiment.
Investors will also be looking towards corporate earnings reports for a possible upside.
Pakistan Oilfields Ltd announced its 2QFY26 results today. The company recorded a profit of Rs6.3 billion, down 17pc YoY but up 16pc QoQ. This takes 1HFY26 earnings to Rs41.29/share, up 16pc YoY, according to Topline Securities.
The brokerage house noted that earnings came out higher than expectations, driven by higher-than-expected other income and a lower Effective Tax Rate (ETR), which stood at 26pc in 2QFY26, compared to 37pc in 2QFY25 and 33pc in 1QFY26.
