Weekly Market Roundup

April 13, 2025 (MLN): Following the chaos seen in global markets, the week turned out to be a rollercoaster ride for the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), as investors felt the heat of Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on its trading partners.

The market melted down, and at one point, the benchmark KSE-100 Index lost 8,687 points or -7.3%, trading at 110,103.97 on Monday. This was the biggest one-day decline in PSX history, and trading was briefly halted.

The market remained unstable throughout the week amid Trump’s tariff decision and a later 90-day pause, which offered some relief but failed to restore investor confidence. Sentiment continued to swing back and forth.

As a result, the KSE-100 Index settled the week at 11,4853.33, up 3,938.33 points or -3.32% from last week’s close of 118,791.66.

Intraday swings were significant, with the index reaching a high of 117,601.62 (+2,748.29 points) and a low of 110,103.97 (-4,749.36 points).

Market cap

The KSE-100 market capitalization stood at Rs3.49 trillion, down 3.22% from the previous week’s Rs3.61tr. In USD terms, the market cap was recorded at $12.45 billion, compared to $12.87bn in the prior week.

This week, the index return in USD terms was -3.31%, compared to 0.72% the previous week.

On the economic front, the sales of cars, including LCVs, vans, and jeeps, in Pakistan increased by 18.3% in March 2025, clocking in at 11,098 units compared to 9,381 units recorded in the same month of last year.

The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased by $23.1 million or 0.22% WoW to $10.7bn during the week ended on April 04, 2025.

Further, the Central Bank raised Rs427.13bn through the sale of Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) against a target of Rs350bn.

Moreover, Pakistan and Belarus have signed a series of agreements and memorandums of understanding to strengthen collaboration in various sectors.

The positive economic cues helped stabilize investor sentiment, pushing the KSE-100 index’s fiscal year-to-date returns to 46.41%, while CYTD return stood at -0.23%.

Top Index Movers

During the week, Commercial Banks, Fertilizer, and Oil & Gas Exploration Companies eroded -1,398.70, -875.41, and -618.96 points, respectively, from the index. On the flip side, Cement added 293.44 to the index.

Among individual stocks, UBL lost -665.54 points, while ENGROH, and EFERT dropped -507.71 and -466.17, respectively.

Conversely, LUCK and MARI added 293.26, and 136.88 points, respectively.

FIPI/LIPI

This week, Foreign Investors remained net sellers, selling equities worth $9.91m.

Foreign Corporates led the selling spree worth $14.33m, while Overseas Pakistanis purchased securities worth $4.33m.

On the other hand, local Investors were net buyers this week, purchasing equities worth $9.91m.

Companies and Banks & DFIs bought securities worth $19.28m and $8.46m, respectively, whereas Mutual Funds sold securities worth $13.62m.

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