Weekly Market Roundup

August 22, 2026 (MLN): The benchmark KSE-100 Index closed the week ended August 21, 2026, at 177,166.52 points, losing 2,938.09 points, or 1.63%, on a week-on-week basis from 180,104.61 points recorded on August 13, 2026.

Investor sentiment remained subdued as oil prices climbed to their highest level in around three weeks, with persistent uncertainty over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and ongoing disruptions to global supplies raising concerns over energy costs and broader economic risks.

Market Capitalization

The Pakistan Stock Exchange's market capitalization decreased by Rs91.14bn during the week, falling from Rs5.097tr on August 13 to Rs5.006tr on August 21.

In dollar terms, market capitalization declined from $18.36bn to $18.03bn, registering a decrease of approximately $322.28m over the week.

The market's USD-adjusted return stood at -1.60%, compared with -0.71% in the previous week, reflecting the benchmark's decline after accounting for currency movements.

On the macroeconomic front, Pakistan’s LSMI output fell 3.48% YoY and 6.08% MoM in June 2026, although the sector recorded a robust 4.98% cumulative growth in FY26, driven mainly by automobiles, food and cement.

Pakistan’s automobile financing rose to Rs386.29bn in July 2026, up 1.2% MoM and 39.65% YoY, showing continued growth in consumer credit and auto demand.

Pakistan’s FDI fell 20.1% YoY to $178.6m in July FY27, but strong recoveries in portfolio and public investments lifted total foreign investment by 14.3% to $204.5m.

Pakistan’s REER rose 1.49% MoM to 107.92 in July 2026, marking its fourth consecutive monthly increase, while NEER also strengthened and the rupee remained broadly stable against the US dollar.

Pakistan’s current account posted a $328m deficit in July 2026, as a widening goods trade gap and primary income outflows outweighed strong remittances of $3.63bn.

Index Movers

Sector-wise performance remained largely negative during the week, with Commercial Banks recording the largest drag on the KSE-100 Index at 1,780.99 points, followed by Fertilizer at 444.01 points, Cement at 421.51 points,

Power Generation & Distribution at 247.21 points, Investment Banks/Investment Companies/Securities Companies at 244.30 points and Technology & Communication at 121.16 points.

Other sectors weighing on the benchmark included Pharmaceuticals at 85.08 points, Automobile Assembler at 84.19 points, Textile Composite at 84.06 points,

Automobile Parts & Accessories at 61.68 points, Food & Personal Care Products at 51.45 points, Cable & Electrical Goods at 44.23 points,

Miscellaneous at 41.86 points, Glass & Ceramics at 34.09 points, Property at 15.50 points, Insurance at 15.29 points and Real Estate Investment Trust at 14.08 points.

On the positive side, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies contributed 385.29 points, followed by Oil & Gas Marketing Companies at 223.39 points, Refinery at 157.72 points,

Leather & Tanneries at 60.46 points, Engineering at 30.33 points, Paper, Board & Packaging at 10.63 points and Tobacco at 7.00 points.

Among individual stocks, PPL emerged as the largest positive contributor to the index, adding 237.61 points, followed by PSO at 205.55 points, OGDC at 167.52 points, ATRL at 120.39 points,

SRVI at 60.46 points, CNERGY at 37.33 points, INIL at 22.65 points, MUREB at 10.75 points, PKGS at 10.63 points and APL at 10.45 points.

On the downside, UBL was the biggest drag on the benchmark, erasing 707.24 points, followed by HBL at 365.05 points, FFC at 361.70 points, ENGROH at 208.73 points,

HUBC at 206.52 points, MEBL at 158.96 points, BAHL at 146.60 points, CHCC at 104.82 points, SYS at 101.94 points and LUCK at 96.35 points.

FIPI/LIPI

Foreign investors remained net sellers during the week, recording net equity sales of $1.06m.

The selling was primarily driven by Foreign Corporates, which offloaded equities worth $4.59m. Meanwhile, Overseas Pakistanis remained net buyers with purchases of $3.49m, while Foreign Individuals recorded net purchases of $35,442.

On the local side, investors remained net buyers in the equity market, recording net purchases of Rs296.05m ($1.06m).

Individuals emerged as the largest local buyers, with net equity purchases of Rs4.85bn ($17.46m), followed by Companies with Rs1.36bn ($4.88m) and Insurance Companies with Rs1.12bn ($4.03m).

The largest sellers were Banks/DFIs, which offloaded equities worth Rs4.02bn ($14.50m), followed by Mutual Funds with Rs2.96bn ($10.62m) and Broker Proprietary Trading with Rs80.21m ($291,412).

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