The most dominant factor contributing to this decline was the collapse of the Iran-US talks, where the US President cancelled a planned trip of his envoys to Pakistan. Consequently, oil prices remained elevated through the week, with the June’26 Brent contract hitting a high of US$126/ bbl.
Adding to this was decision by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to
raise the policy rate by 100bps to 11.5% on Monday, the first rate hike in over
two and half years.
The prolonged Middle East conflict was termed to be the primary
driver for raising the policy rate, attributing inflation to remain above the
target range in the next few quarters.
However, a positive development was the confirmation of the
IMF Executive Board meeting scheduled for May 08, 2026 to consider approval of
the US$1.2 billion tranche under the EFF and RSF programs.
Foreign exchange reserves held by SBP as of April 24, 2026
were reported at US$15.8 billion.
Other major news flow during the week included: 1) Pakistan
clears US$3.45 billion loan to UAE, 2) Pakistan plans launch of Panda Bonds, 3)
IMF okays 60% cut in gas levy, 4) No let-up in Pakistan’s efforts for US-Iran
peace, and 5) Pakistan's weekly oil import bill rises to US$800 million amid US-Iran
conflict.
Top performing sectors were: Textile Weaving, Tobacco, and Auto
Assemblers, while laggards included: Vanaspati, Property, and Woolen.
Major selling was recorded by Mutual funds, and Brokers
amounting to US$28.6 million and US$3.1 million respectively.
Major buyers were Individuals, and Companies with net buy of
US$27.4 million and US$1.4 million respectively.
Top performing scrips were: HCAR, MEHT, INDU, PAKT, and MTL,
while laggards included: YOUW, NBP, SSOM, GADT, and SSGC.
According to AKD Securities, a constructive resolution of
US-Iran would remain the pivotal near-term catalyst for the market direction,
with softening of oil prices to act as a trigger. Market continues to trade at
attractive valuations.
Top picks of the brokerage house include: OGDC, PPL, UBL,
MEBL, HBL, FFC, ENGROH, PSO, LUCK, FCCL, INDU, ILP and SYS.
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