The quarterly picture
Pakistan’s capital market remained resilient in the third quarter of fiscal 2026 despite a difficult global backdrop shaped by the US-Iran war, rising oil prices, higher freight and insurance costs, and broad risk-off sentiment, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) said in a Quarterly Market Review covering the January-March quarter.
How far the KSE-100 fell
The review said the conflict pushed Brent crude up 10 to 13 percent in the early days of the war. US software stocks declined about 23 percent, the S&P 500 fell 4.3 percent, MSCI Europe ex-UK dropped 3.2 percent, MSCI Asia slipped 1.1 percent and MSCI Emerging Markets eased 0.1 percent.
Against that backdrop, the KSE-100 declined 14.54 percent during the quarter. It started at 174,054 points, reached an all-time high of 191,033 on 26 January and closed at 148,743 on 31 March. Its intra-quarter low was 144,119 on 19 March, a peak-to-trough decline of 22.57 percent. The KSE All Share index fell 14.85 percent and the KSE-30 declined 15.52 percent. January was strong, with the KSE-100 gaining 5.81 percent, before sentiment weakened in February and the correction deepened with an 11.50 percent fall in March.
Domestic buyers absorbed foreign selling
Market capitalisation fell from PKR 19.69 trillion to PKR 16.53 trillion, a drop of PKR 3.15 trillion. Foreign investors recorded net outflows of PKR 111.61 billion, with foreign corporates alone selling PKR 117.07 billion. Domestic institutional and retail investors absorbed the selling with net buying of PKR 111.55 billion, led by companies at PKR 73.51 billion, mutual funds at PKR 23.78 billion and individuals at PKR 20.25 billion.
Trading remained concentrated in blue-chip stocks. National Bank of Pakistan led with PKR 182.42 billion in traded value, followed by Pakistan Petroleum, OGDC, Fauji Fertilizer and Habib Bank. By volume, K-Electric led with 4.64 billion shares, followed by Bank of Punjab and WorldCall Telecom.
Debt markets and new listings
Primary market activity continued, with the SECP approving three initial public offerings during the quarter. On the debt side, three government Ijara Sukuk auctions with a target of PKR 800 billion drew bids of PKR 2.03 trillion, a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.54 times, and the government accepted PKR 811.53 billion. GoP Ijara Sukuk worth PKR 185.14 billion traded in 2,062 transactions, and trading on the PSX bills and bonds counter reached PKR 260.94 billion.
The SECP described the quarter as exceptionally challenging but said strong participation by domestic institutional and retail investors, active debt markets, IPO activity and regulatory reforms had supported stability and pointed to improving fundamentals.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a summary of a published regulatory release carried by the national news agency, not eyewitness reporting. The source was reviewed on 2026-04-23.
- APP — Pakistan's capital market shows resilience despite global shock, war fallout: SECPPublished 23 April 2026 · Carries the SECP Quarterly Market Review for Q3 FY2025-26, including the KSE-100's 14.54 percent quarterly decline and index levels, the PKR 111.61 billion of foreign outflows absorbed by domestic investors, the three IPOs approved, and the Ijara Sukuk auction and secondary-market figures.
