Pakistan’s benchmark index falls 0.4% week-on-week to 166,419 points as global tensions weigh on sentiment, while the September-quarter results season emerges as a key market driver.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index declined by 670 points, or 0.4 percent, during the week ended October 16, 2026, closing at 166,419 points amid persistent geopolitical uncertainty, according to Arif Habib Limited’s weekly market update.

The brokerage said geopolitical developments remained a major influence on investor sentiment, while the upcoming September-quarter corporate results season, beginning next week, was expected to attract market attention.

Pakistan’s trade deficit widened by 5 percent year-on-year and 7 percent month-on-month to $3.53 billion in September 2026. Exports increased 18 percent year-on-year to $2.96 billion, while imports rose 11 percent to $6.49 billion. During the first quarter of FY2027, the trade deficit expanded 15 percent to $10.77 billion.

The government raised Rs685.5 billion against a target of Rs550 billion through government securities, with the three-month tenor attracting the largest amount of Rs310.1 billion.

The PSX also recorded a record monthly addition of 25,280 investor accounts in September, taking total unique identification numbers to 656,000, up 55 percent from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, Pakistan posted a current account deficit of $356 million in September, taking the first-quarter deficit to $874 million.

Oil production fell 1.7 percent week-on-week, while gas output declined 0.2 percent. Auto sales dropped 3 percent month-on-month to 15,100 units in September, although first-quarter sales rose 19 percent year-on-year.

The Pakistani rupee appreciated marginally by 0.03 percent to close at Rs276.91 against the US dollar.

Arif Habib Limited noted that the KSE-100 was trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.4 times, with a dividend yield of 6.8 percent.