PSX ends flat, selling erases early gains

KSE-100 consolidates; benchmark slips around 50 points after touching 178,650

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Stock Exchange closed almost unchanged on Thursday as late profit-taking wiped out an early rally, leaving the KSE-100 Index down around 50 points to over 177,320.

PSX witnessed a consolidation session, with the KSE-100 Index closing flattish at 177,323, down 48 points (-0.03% DoD).

The market opened on a positive note, briefly touching an intraday high of 178,650 (+1,279 points; +0.72%). However, few traders opted for profit-taking as the session progressed, erasing earlier gains and resulting in a marginally negative close, said 𝐀𝐥𝐢 𝐍𝐚𝐣𝐢𝐛, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd.

On the corporate front, APL reported FY26 earnings of PKR 17.0bn (EPS: PKR 136.31), up 63% YoY, while 4QFY26 earnings declined 19% YoY to PKR 2.2bn. The company announced a final dividend of PKR 40/share, taking FY26 payout to 44% vs 30.5% in the same period of last year.

Read More: PSX up 400 points amid mixed trading

POL posted 4QFY26 PAT of PKR 12.4bn (EPS: PKR 43.69), up 67% YoY, while FY26 PAT rose 32% YoY to PKR 31.9bn. The company announced a record annual dividend of PKR 100/share.

Meanwhile, HUBC reported 4QFY26 PAT of PKR 16.5bn (EPS: PKR 12.77), up 39% YoY and 53% QoQ, and declared a quarterly dividend of PKR 5/share.
On the index contribution front, HUBC, ENGROH, POL, UBL, and FFC collectively added 494 points to the benchmark index. Conversely, NBP, PPL, PSO, OGDC, and SYS collectively erased 615 points amid selective profit-taking.

Market activity remained relatively stable, with traded volume reaching 611.6mn shares and total turnover of PKR 34.5bn. FNEL topped the volume chart with 86mn shares traded.

Going forward, near-term trading is likely to remain range-bound and volatile, with 175k as key initial support.