July 18, 2026 (MLN): The benchmark KSE-100 Index closed the week ended July 17, 2026 at 175,802.79 points, losing 6,438.99 points, or 3.53%, on a week-on-week basis from 182,241.78 points recorded on July 10, 2026.

Investor sentiment weakened during the week as investors booked profits following the recent market rally, while weaker-than-expected external account data added to the cautious mood.

Market confidence was further dented after Pakistan posted a $649m current account deficit in June 2026, compared with a $500m surplus in May 2026 and a $220m surplus in June 2025, raising concerns over the country's external sector and triggering broad-based selling across key sectors.

Market Capitalization

The Pakistan Stock Exchange's market capitalization declined by Rs208.81bn during the week, falling from Rs5.212tr on July 10 to Rs5.003tr on July 17.

In dollar terms, market capitalization decreased from $18.74bn to $18.00bn, registering a decline of approximately $744.98m over the week.

The market's USD-adjusted return stood at -3.50%, compared with -1.67% in the previous week, reflecting the benchmark's decline after accounting for currency movements.

On the macroeconomic front, (FDI) fell 34% to $1.64bn in FY26, while June inflows plunged to $13.5m from $210m a year earlier, according to SBP data.

Meanwhile, total foreign investment turned into a $450.6m divestment in FY26, compared with $1.75bn in net investment during the same period last year.

rose to 106.44 in June 2026, indicating a slight gain in the rupee's inflation-adjusted value but a further decline in export competitiveness.

Pakistan's current account swung to a from a $1.84bn surplus in FY25, as a wider trade gap outweighed modest growth in exports and remittances.

YoY in May 2026 despite a 1.21% monthly increase, while cumulative industrial production grew 5.77% during Jul–May FY26, driven by automobiles, sugar and petroleum products.

Pakistan's car to 206,436 units, while June sales climbed 28.8% month-on-month, reflecting continued strength in auto demand.

Index Movers

Sector-wise performance remained overwhelmingly negative during the week, with Commercial Banks exerting the largest drag on the KSE-100 Index by 1,946.24 points, followed by Oil & Gas Exploration Companies (990.31 points), Cement (836.78 points), Fertilizer (447.13 points), Power Generation & Distribution (385.38 points),

Technology & Communication (347.50 points), Investment Banks/Investment Companies/Securities Companies (208.13 points), Pharmaceuticals (195.40 points), Automobile Assembler (186.59 points), Textile Composite (152.29 points), Oil & Gas Marketing Companies (131.35 points), Food & Personal Care Products (73.43 points),

Property (71.26 points), Leather & Tanneries (61.52 points), Engineering (61.20 points), Cable & Electrical Goods (56.88 points), Chemical (46.83 points), Glass & Ceramics (46.52 points), Transport (41.36 points), Miscellaneous (38.28 points), Insurance (27.52 points), Synthetic & Rayon (23.23 points), Automobile Parts & Accessories (16.92 points),

Tobacco (12.27 points), Refinery (7.30 points), Textile Spinning (6.76 points), Close-End Mutual Fund (6.20 points), Real Estate Investment Trust (5.54 points), Sugar & Allied Industries (2.33 points),

Modarabas (1.97 points), Paper, Board & Packaging (1.66 points), Textile Weaving (1.55 points), Vanaspati & Allied Industries (0.83 points), Woollen (0.32 points) and Leasing Companies (0.21 points).

Among individual stocks, UBL emerged as the largest contributor to the index, adding 554.77 points, followed by PPL (394.10 points), OGDC (365.83 points), LUCK (353.12 points), HUBC (304.70 points), FFC (275.00 points), MEBL (264.32 points), MCB (227.47 points), MARI (215.39 points) and SYS (208.84 points).

Other notable positive contributors included HBL (193.15 points), ENGROH (156.70 points), BAHL (146.25 points), MLCF (144.29 points), DGKC (127.50 points), BOP (117.07 points), NBP (111.34 points), BAFL (94.04 points), AKBL (93.28 points) and EFERT (92.21 points).

FIPI/LIPI

Foreign investors remained net buyers during the week, recording net equity purchases of Rs5.42bn ($19.52m).

The buying was primarily driven by Foreign Corporates, which accumulated equities worth Rs4.30bn ($15.47m). Overseas Pakistanis also remained net buyers with Rs1.12bn ($4.03m) worth of equity purchases.

On the local side, Individuals emerged as the largest buyers, with net equity purchases of Rs3.80bn ($13.66m).

Companies also remained net buyers with Rs1.11bn ($3.98m), followed by Insurance Companies with Rs840.82m ($3.02m), Banks/DFIs with Rs564.66m ($2.03m) and NBFCs with Rs101.02m ($363,380).

The largest sellers were Mutual Funds, which offloaded equities worth Rs10.44bn ($37.56m).

Broker Proprietary Trading recorded net selling of Rs1.00bn ($3.60m), followed by Other Organizations with Rs389.36m ($1.40m).