KARACHI: After staging a mild recovery overnight following three consecutive sessions of heavy losses, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) came under renewed selling pressure on Wednesday as investors resumed profit-taking amid a lack of positive triggers and rising regional tensions.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index remained volatile throughout the session and eventually slipped below the 183,000-point level. According to Topline Securities Ltd, investors chose to lock in gains after the recent rally, leading to a fresh bout of selling. The index touched an intraday high of 775 points before falling to a low of 1,581 points and closed at 182,569.82, down 1,381.69 points or 0.75 per cent.
Despite the broader market weakness, the exploration and production (E&P) sector outperformed the market. Oil and Gas Development Company Limited gained 2.95 per cent, while Pakistan Petroleum Limited rose 2.12 per cent, supported by selective buying in energy stocks.
On the index front, heavyweights such as OGDCL, PPL, Askari Bank, Meezan Bank and Atlas Honda Limited provided some support, collectively adding 429 points to the benchmark. However, declines in United Bank Limited, MCB Bank, Fauji Fertiliser, Lucky Cement and Hub Power Company dragged the index down, erasing 897 points.
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Market participation remained subdued. Total trading volume fell to 1.031 billion shares, although the value of shares traded increased by 5.19 per cent to Rs65.9 billion. K-Electric led the volume chart, with 56 million shares changing hands.
Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Limited, said market sentiment remained cautious due to heightened geopolitical tensions, prompting investors to adopt a risk-averse approach amid growing uncertainty in the Middle East.
PSX comes under renewed selling pressure as investors resumed profit-taking. https://t.co/pLOksuPZBa
— Dawn Business (@dawn_business) January 15, 2026
On the macroeconomic front, Bloomberg has warned that Pakistan’s recent slowdown in inflation to 5.6 per cent year-on-year may prove temporary. The report projects that consumer price inflation could reaccelerate due to base effects, stronger demand and rising energy prices, potentially approaching 8 per cent by the fourth quarter of FY26.
The outlook suggests that the State Bank of Pakistan is likely to maintain its policy rate at 10.5 per cent, with additional upside risks linked to potential oil price shocks, which could further weigh on market sentiment in the coming months.
