The floor breaks: KSE-100 falls 1.54% to 171,739.44, closing about 1% below the month's 173,518.81 low
KSE-100
171,739.44
-1.54%
KSE-30
51,216.76
-1.69%
KMI-30 (Shariah)
241,390.66
-1.59%
All-Share
104,259.23
-1.35%
Market Pulse
Thursday resolved the two-week standoff to the downside. The KSE-100 fell 1.54% to 171,739.44 - its sharpest drop since the 14 July rout - with the KSE-30 (-1.69%), Shariah KMI-30 (-1.59%) and All-Share (-1.35%) all in the same band, taking the index about 1% below the 173,519 floor that Wednesday's brief had framed as the level to watch and roughly 2.3% lower for the week with one session left. Breadth was the most lopsided of the week at 78 advancers to 338 decliners across a 439-name universe, and volume of 507m tilted hard to the sell side - 380m down against 126m up - yet the total was lighter than Wednesday's 696m and barely half the 14 July rout's 913m. The refinery trade stayed stubbornly bid through the break: CNERGY (+2.23%) topped the actives on 61m, PRL (+3.30%, 28m) extended its run to a sixth straight gain, and NRL (+1.49%) and ATRL (+1.72%) completed a clean sweep of green in the sector, while TPLP (-1.27%, 23m), DCL (-0.17%, 22m) and WTL (-0.81%, 22m) rounded out the actives on the way down.
Sector micro-analysis
Three of 32 tracked sectors closed higher: Apparel (+2.7%, 3 up / 1 down), Miscellaneous (+2.35%, on mixed internals of 6 up / 9 down) and Refinery (+2.19%, all four names up - PRL +3.30% on 28m, CNERGY +2.23% on 61m, ATRL +1.72%, NRL +1.49%), with Insurance (-0.03%, 6 up / 17 down) the only other sector near flat. Everything else fell. Textile Weaving (-3.27%), Transport (-2.8%, PIBTL -2.74% on 16m) and Cement (-2.76%, 2 up / 16 down - DGKC -4.03%, MLCF -3.62% on 13m, FCCL -3.47%, PIOC -5.80%, LUCK -2.44%) led the declines, with Oil & Gas Marketing (-2.65%) close behind as SSGC slid 6.97% on 15m. The heavyweights offered no shelter: Power lost 2.25% (KEL -2.22% on 17m), Fertilizer fell 1.91% (0 up / 5 down), Technology & Communication dropped 1.63% (2 up / 19 down, TRG -4.00%, AIRLINK +2.11% the exception), Commercial Banks shed 1.45% with all 19 tracked names lower (UBL -2.73%, BOP -2.31% on 18m), and the E&Ps eased 1.29% (0 up / 4 down).
| Sector | Avg change | Breadth (A / D) |
|---|---|---|
| Apparel | +2.70% | 3 / 1 |
| Miscellaneous | +2.35% | 6 / 9 |
| Refinery | +2.19% | 4 / 0 |
| Insurance | -0.03% | 6 / 17 |
| Cement | -2.76% | 2 / 16 |
| Transport | -2.80% | 1 / 5 |
| Textile Weaving | -3.27% | 1 / 4 |
Most active
- CNERGY 61m Rs 10.10 +2.23%
- PRL 28m Rs 52.54 +3.30%
- TPLP 23m Rs 13.22 -1.27%
- DCL 22m Rs 11.72 -0.17%
- WTL 22m Rs 1.22 -0.81%
Gainers
- SHNI Rs 10.16 +10.92%
- UDLI Rs 19.79 +10.07%
- STML Rs 59.14 +10.01%
- OML Rs 157.51 +10.00%
- ASIC Rs 49.95 +10.00%
Losers
- KPUS Rs 1,227.86 -10.00%
- NSRM Rs 266.79 -10.00%
- SGPL Rs 64.40 -9.99%
- CCM Rs 52.77 -9.75%
- SAIF Rs 41.15 -9.62%
Market Action
Foreign (FIPI) net
+PKR 669.01m (+$2.41M)
Local (LIPI) net
−PKR 669.01m
Source: NCCPL FIPI/LIPI · settled 23 Jul 2026
Foreign investors were net buyers of PKR 669.01m (USD 2.4m); local investors were net sellers of PKR 669.01m. the day's volume tilted decisively to the sell side - 380m of the 507m tape traded in declining names against 126m in advancers - yet the total was lighter than Wednesday's 696m and barely half the 14 July rout's 913m, a broad step-down rather than a scramble for the exit. What buying there was concentrated in the refinery trade: CNERGY's 61m and PRL's 28m together made up most of the day's up-volume, the sector the only meaningful pocket of green on the board. A 1.5% index fall on contained turnover, with one crowded trade still catching bids, reads as the band's floor giving way under persistent, unhurried selling rather than a capitulation.
Outlook
- •The two-week band resolved downward: at 171,739.44 the index closed about 1% below the old 173,518.81 floor, roughly 8.4% below the 6 July record, and roughly 2.3% lower for the week with Friday still to trade.
- •The break was broad but orderly - 338 decliners against 78 advancers, every heavyweight sector lower, yet 507m of volume was lighter than Wednesday's 696m and nothing like the 14 July rout's 913m - selling pressure that has been persistent rather than panicked.
- •Friday now decides whether the break confirms with follow-through below 173,518.81, or the index reclaims the old floor and the two-week base rebuilds one level lower.
What to watch
- •Whether 173,518.81 - the floor that just gave way - now caps recoveries as resistance, or Friday's session reclaims it and voids the break
- •Whether the refinery trade's immunity persists - all four names rose through a 1.54% index fall, PRL (+3.30% on 28m) stretching its run to six straight sessions and CNERGY (+2.23%) topping the actives on 61m
- •Whether foreign buying - net PKR 669.01m on the break day per NCCPL, a day after the flat print that ended the ten-session streak - keeps absorbing local selling if the index stays below the old floor
- •USD/PKR, SBP rate signals and the global crude tape
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Produced by Wealth Street - a SECP-regulated PSX & PMEX broker - for information and education only. Not investment advice or a solicitation. Figures are derived from the PSX data portal and presented as Wealth Street commentary, not a redistributed data feed; breadth and sector stats cover the tracked large-cap universe. Flows are directional estimates unless attributed to NCCPL FIPI/LIPI data. Please read our Risk Disclosure.