Pakistan Market Wrap: Evening Note – By Vector Research

Feb 18 2026

Vector Securities

• Evening Note.

Pakistan Market Wrap: Evening Chronicle – By AHCML Research

Feb 18 2026

Al Habib Capital Markets

• The benchmark KSE-100 Index opened on a positive note, hitting an intraday high of 178,974 before closing at 178,853, up 5,702.68 points (+3.29%). The rally was driven by broad-based buying in the commercial banks, power generation, fertilizer, cement, and technology sectors.

• Sentiment was supported by a $121 million current account surplus in Jan 2026, improving LSM growth during 1HFY26 to 4.82%, along with easing geopolitical tensions after Iran stated that good progress had been made in nuclear talks with the US. In terms of index contribution, UBL, HBL, MEBL, NBP, and MCB collectively added 2,698.54 points. On the volume front, KEL led trading with 116.97 million shares, while total market turnover stood at 693.28 million shares.

Pakistan Fertilizers: Demand Slump Masks Strong Cumulative Rabi Performance; Urea Surpluses Persist – By HMFS Research

Feb 18 2026

HMFS Research

• January's sharp offtake declines — while jarring on a standalone basis — should be contextualized against the unusually strong frontloading seen in Oct–Dec 2025, which inflated the base. Cumulative Rabi urea offtake of 2,744K tones is running 12% ahead of last season, a constructive signal for fertilizer companies' top lines. The structural concern remains DAP demand destruction, now down 23% on a Rabi cumulative basis, likely reflecting farmer affordability pressures and substitution toward cheaper nitrogen sources. We believe elevated closing urea stocks (~602K tones) cap near-term upside on pricing but support volume visibility into Kharif.

• In product terms, urea offtake of 218K tones was down 51.1% Y/Y and DAP at 39K tones declined 35.8% Y/Y. Both miss comfortably on any historical comparison, though we flag that the January 2025 base was itself elevated relative to seasonal norms

Pakistan Market Wrap: KSE-100 closes at 178,853 up 5,703 points – By Alpha-Akseer Research

Feb 18 2026

Alpha Capital

• The equity market opened on a robust note and maintained its upward momentum throughout the session. The KSE-100 Index experienced notable intraday volatility, trading within a range of 174,329 to 178,974 before closing at 178,853—registering an impressive gain of 5,703 points. Total volume on the main board stood at 424.6 million shares, with a cumulative value of PKR 42.3 billion.

• The rally was primarily driven by UBL (7.4%, 1,003 points), HBL (10%, 600 points), MEBL (5.9%, 422 points), NBP (8.7%, 370 points), and MCB (5.5%, 304 points). In terms of trading activity, KEL and BOP led the volume chart, with 117 million and 71 million shares exchanged, respectively.

Cherat Cement Company Ltd. (CHCC): Earnings declined on lower prices – By AKD Research

Feb 18 2026

AKD Securities

• Revenue declined by 11%YoY to PkR9.4bn, mainly due to 13%YoY drop in local retention prices despite 11%YoY higher local offtakes. Notably, total offtakes declined by 2%YoY to 0.64mn tons due to lower exports amid Afghan border closure.

• Gross margins slightly improved to 36.3% from 36.0% in SPLY, driven by higher proportion of local sales in the mix.

Pakistan Economy: Jan’26 Surpluses, Built on Remittances and Import Compression – By AHCML Research

Feb 18 2026

Al Habib Capital Markets

• Pakistan's Current Account has recorded third month of the year surpluses of USD 121mn in Jan’26, a sharp reversal from the deficit in Dec’25. However, over the 7MFY26 (July-Jan), the current account deficit stands at USD1,074mn, a staggering deterioration from the USD 564mn surplus recorded in the same period last year.

• In Jan’26, the goods trade deficit stood at USD 2,591mn. Exports fell by 8.7%YoY to USD 2,746mn (from USD 3,008mn in Jan’25), while imports declined 2.6%YoY to USD 5,337mn (from USD 5,481mn) and 7%MoM from Dec-25's USD 5,737mn.

Habib Bank Limited (HBL): Result Review – By IIS Research

Feb 18 2026

Ismail Iqbal Securities

• Habib Bank Limited (HBL) announced its 4QCY25 results, reporting consolidated EPS of PKR 10.5, up 7% YoY but down 9% QoQ. The result came in slightly below our expectations, primarily due to weaker non-markup income. The bank declared a final cash dividend of PKR 6/share, above our expectation of PKR 5/share, taking the CY25 cumulative payout to PKR 20/share.

• Net interest income (NII) grew by 17% YoY, supported by volumetric expansion which largely offset margin compression. However, on a QoQ basis, NII declined by 2% as the impact of asset repricing had largely materialized. Non-markup income fell sharply by 50% YoY, mainly due to losses on sale of securities and the absence of one-off other income recorded in the same period last year.

Habib Bank Limited (HBL): 4QCY25 EPS clocked in at PKR10.5 – By Insight Research

Feb 18 2026

Insight Securities

• HBL has announced its 4QCY25 result, wherein it has posted consolidated HBL (PKR mn) 4QCY25 4QCY24 3QCY25 YoY QoQ CY25 CY24 YoY PAT of PKR15.4bn (EPS: PKR10.5) vs. PAT of PKR14.6bn (EPS: PKR9.8) in SPLY. The result is broadly inline with our estimates. However, NII came higher than estimates due to healthy volumetric growth, which was partially offset by higher than estimated provisioning and ETR.

• Net interest income clocked in at PKR68.2bn in 4QCY25, up by 13% YoY. The increase is mainly attributable to volumetric growth. To highlight, deposits grew by ~27%/9% YoY/QoQ in 4QCY25.

Cherat Cement Company Limited (CHCC): Earnings Above Estimates; Margins Stable – By IIS Research

Feb 18 2026

Ismail Iqbal Securities

• Cherat Cement (CHCC) announced its 2QFY26 results, reporting net profit of PKR 2.02bn, down 4% QoQ and 11% YoY. The result is slightly above our expectations mainly due to stronger than anticipated gross margins.

• Net sales declined by 11% YoY, primarily driven by lower bag prices in the North region and reduced exports following the Afghan border closure, which, according to the company, account for around 7% of total sales. Cost of goods sold declined by roughly 12% YoY, likely supported by operational efficiencies including the induction of EV dumpers that helped reduce freight costs, along with the installation of around 9MW solar capacity contributing to lower energy expenses. The decline in costs helped maintain gross margins at around 36%, broadly in line with 1QFY26 and 2QFY25 levels.

Technology & Communication: IT Exports up by 19% YoY to US$374mn in Jan-26 – By Topline Research

Feb 18 2026

Topline Securities

• Pakistan recorded monthly IT exports of US$374mn in Jan-26, up 19% YoY but down 14% MoM. This takes 7MFY26 to US$2.6bn, reflecting a 20% YoY growth.

• Net IT Exports (Exports-Imports) displayed a monthly number of US$314mn, up 12% YoY.