The benchmark KSE-100 index at the Pakistan stock market faced a volatile start on Friday, slipping into losses soon after a modest positive open as selling picked up across key sectors.
Trading at the Pakistan Stock Exchange began on a slightly positive note, with the KSE-100 index gaining 65 points to reach 180,577 around 9:16am on thin early volume. The brief optimism faded quickly as selling pressure intensified, dragging the market into negative territory within minutes.
By 10:05am, the benchmark index had fallen to 178,391.58, down 2,121.06 points or 1.18 percent. Heavy selling was seen in cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies and power generation stocks. Major index movers including OGDC, Mari Petroleum, Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Hub Power Company, MCB Bank and UBL traded in the red, adding to the downward pressure.
The market touched its lowest level before Friday prayers around 10:08am, when the KSE-100 dropped to 178,237.13 after losing about 2,275 points, with trading volume rising sharply to 95,440,402 shares. Some recovery was later seen, but losses persisted. As of 12:00pm on February 13, 2026, the index stood at 178,979.43, down 1,533.21 points or 0.85 percent, while total traded volume reached 184,008,470 shares.
Despite the intraday decline, the broader trend remains positive. Over the past one year, the PSX has gained about 59.00 percent, while the year to date rise stands at 2.83 percent. During the last 52 weeks, the KSE-100 has moved within a wide band, touching a low of 101,598.91 and climbing to a high of 191,032.73.
Activity remained concentrated in a handful of stocks. K-Electric and HUM Network saw gains among the most actively traded shares, while WorldCall Telecom and Bank of Punjab stayed under pressure. Systems Limited also traded lower during the session. Among the top gainers, LSE Capital Rights and several other small-cap stocks posted strong percentage increases, whereas NAGC, GOC and HUSI were among the major laggards, recording notable declines.
The weak tone follows Thursday’s sharp fall, when the market closed under sustained selling pressure. The KSE-100 had dropped 2,537.16 points, or 1.39 percent, to settle at 180,512.65 amid uncertainty, broad sector weakness and negative sentiment linked to large-scale mining investment concerns.
Traders continued to remain cautious during Friday’s session, keeping the market volatile through midday trade.
