KSE-100 today gave back a large part of this week’s rally. The benchmark index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange closed on Thursday, 12 November, at 177,373.76, down 1,710.04 points or 0.95%, according to Business Recorder. It had opened higher and touched 180,310 in the morning before selling spread through banks, oil and gas, and power stocks. It is the index’s second fall in a row, after Tuesday’s 5,449-point jump that we covered in our report on cheaper oil and calmer US-Iran signals.
The short version
- The KSE-100 closed at 177,374, down 1,710 points (0.95%), after an intraday high of 180,310 and a low of 177,272.
- Selling hit heavyweights in banking, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing, cement and power, Express Tribune reported.
- The two-day loss of about 1,961 points takes back roughly a third of Tuesday’s 5,449-point gain (Knock-On calculation).
- Outside the market, the dollar index hit its highest level since April 2025 on talk of further US rate rises, while gold fell sharply in Pakistan.
What happened
The KSE-100 opened above Wednesday’s close of 179,083.80 and briefly traded above 180,000. Business Recorder said selling around midday pushed the index towards 177,500; a short recovery towards 178,400 then faded into renewed selling before the close. By midday, Express Tribune reported, 164.54 million shares worth Rs15.22 billion had changed hands. It named HUBCO, OGDC, PPL, PSO, HBL, MCB, Meezan Bank and UBL among the heavyweights in the red, and said investors “appeared to be booking profits after recent gains”.
Thursday’s fall follows a small loss on Wednesday, when the index slipped 251 points to 179,084 after late profit-taking. Topline Securities said then that investors were weighing high domestic liquidity against oil supply concerns and Middle East geopolitics.
Two down days have taken back about a third of Tuesday’s rally
KSE-100 daily change in points, 10–12 November 2026
Why it matters
The KSE-100 today is still well above where it started the week, and Express Tribune noted the index remains higher for the week and the month. But the speed of the reversal shows how much of Tuesday’s rally rested on one theme: hopes that a calmer Gulf would keep oil cheap. Our analysis of the oil price fall showed how directly that feeds into Pakistan’s import bill. Brent was down again on Thursday, at $91.29 a barrel by mid-morning Pakistan time, so the selling looks more like investors locking in gains than a change in that story.
The global backdrop is less friendly, though. Business Recorder reported that the dollar index rose to 103.02, its highest since April 2025, as traders priced in further US Federal Reserve rate rises after stronger-than-expected US inflation data. A stronger dollar tends to make emerging-market assets less attractive, and it matters for the foreign money that has been flowing into Pakistani government bonds. The rupee held steady, closing at 276.61 to the dollar, a gain of one paisa.
The knock-on effects
First order: KSE-100 today hits the biggest index names
Banks, exploration companies and power producers carry heavy weight in the index, so selling in a handful of them moves the whole market. Funds that bought into Tuesday’s rally now hold positions at higher prices.
Second order: harder timing for capital raising
Companies planning share sales or rights issues watch the index level and its volatility. Swings of several thousand points in a week make pricing harder and can push issuers to wait.
Third order: sentiment tied to global rates
If US rate expectations keep rising, foreign investors may become more selective about frontier markets. That would leave local liquidity, which Topline flagged as high, to do more of the work of supporting prices.
Who could benefit
- Investors who sold into the rally and locked in Tuesday’s gains.
- Fuel importers and transport firms, as Brent kept falling on Thursday.
- Gold buyers, after the gold price in Pakistan fell another Rs10,900 a tola on Thursday.
Who may face pressure
- Late buyers who entered near 180,000 this week.
- Bank and energy shareholders, the sectors named in the heaviest selling.
- Companies planning listings, if volatility persists.
What to watch
- Friday, 13 November: whether the index holds above 177,000, the area of Thursday’s low.
- US-Iran talks and Brent crude, the main driver of this week’s rally.
- US rate expectations and the dollar index, which reached its highest level since April 2025.
Sources
- Business Recorder, PSX: selling conintues, KSE-100 down nearly 1%, 12 Nov 2026
- Express Tribune, PSX sheds 1,492 points as selling hits heavyweights, 12 Nov 2026
- Business Recorder, PSX: KSE-100 sheds 250 points as late-session selling erases intra-day gains, 11 Nov 2026
- Business Recorder, Rupee registers gain against US dollar, 12 Nov 2026
- Business Recorder, Gold price in Pakistan plunges by Rs10,900 per tola, 12 Nov 2026
This is analysis, not investment advice. Figures are as of 12 November 2026.
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