PSX August 2026 wrap: Narrow KSE-100 gain
The KSE-100 ended August 0.50% higher, but gains in large exploration names and refiners masked weaker breadth across the 100-company basket.
Executive Summary
- KSE-100: +0.50%, or +881.56 points, to 176,975.67.
- Breadth: 44 gainers and 56 losers; equal-weight return was +0.33%.
- Leadership: exploration +5.08%; refiners +31.79%, but only 1.28% of basket value.
The market gain was led by a small set of large companies
The index rose 0.50%; the market-cap-weighted basket rose 0.54%, versus +0.33% equal-weight. August was therefore a selective advance, not a broad rally.
The contrast between percentage returns and index influence is the important part of this month’s story. A stock can have an exceptional rally without moving the overall market much if its market-cap weight is small; conversely, a more modest move in a heavyweight can materially affect the index.
- OGDC gained 4.67%. With an 8.51% end-August share of this market-cap basket, that equates to roughly +0.40 percentage points of the basket’s monthly return—the largest positive contribution.
- PPL rose 8.46% and represented 3.84% of the basket, adding about +0.33 percentage points.
- CNERGY was the headline percentage winner, up 43.95%, but its 0.51% weight meant its estimated impact was closer to +0.23 percentage points.
- ATRL advanced 23.69%. Its 0.77% weight translated to about +0.18 percentage points of contribution.
Together, the four names supplied roughly +1.13 percentage points of positive return before the rest of the basket—particularly weaker large sectors—offset part of that advance. This is why August finished marginally higher at index level even though more constituents fell than rose.
Basis: 31 July to 31 August closes across all KSE-100
August return heatmap
Each rectangle is a company. Area shows end-August market cap; colour shows the monthly return. Large banks and explorers dominate the map, while refinery gains occupy less area.
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Refiners led, while larger sectors determined the index outcome
Refinery led on percentage return, but exploration mattered more to the index because of its 18.39% basket weight. Banks, fertiliser, consumer names and technology were weak to mixed.
| Sector | Companies | August return | End-Aug market-cap share | Advances / declines |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refinery | 2 | +31.79% | 1.28% | 2 / 0 |
| Textile Spinning | 1 | +19.73% | 0.06% | 1 / 0 |
| Engineering | 2 | +8.49% | 0.38% | 2 / 0 |
| Oil & Gas Mktng | 4 | +6.60% | 2.00% | 3 / 1 |
| Leasing | 1 | +5.62% | 0.00% | 1 / 0 |
| Oil & Gas Exploration | 4 | +5.08% | 18.39% | 4 / 0 |
| Reit | 2 | +4.82% | 0.64% | 1 / 1 |
| Glass & Ceramics | 2 | +2.89% | 0.44% | 1 / 1 |
| Insurance | 1 | +1.78% | 0.20% | 1 / 0 |
| Closed-End Mutual Fund | 1 | +0.76% | 0.03% | 1 / 0 |
| Property | 1 | +0.71% | 0.33% | 1 / 0 |
| Textile Composite | 4 | +0.54% | 1.59% | 1 / 3 |
| Auto Assembler | 7 | +0.21% | 4.27% | 5 / 2 |
| Vanaspati & Allied | 1 | -0.12% | 0.02% | 0 / 1 |
| Cement | 9 | -0.39% | 9.00% | 4 / 5 |
| Commercial Banks | 13 | -0.40% | 29.25% | 6 / 7 |
| Power Generation | 4 | -1.30% | 3.13% | 2 / 2 |
| Sugar & Allied | 1 | -1.38% | 0.31% | 0 / 1 |
| Chemical | 2 | -1.53% | 0.86% | 1 / 1 |
| Fertilizer | 4 | -1.65% | 8.61% | 1 / 3 |
| Auto Parts | 1 | -2.20% | 0.28% | 0 / 1 |
| Woollen | 1 | -2.21% | 0.00% | 0 / 1 |
| Paper & Packaging | 1 | -2.37% | 0.43% | 0 / 1 |
| Food & Personal Care | 7 | -2.84% | 6.20% | 2 / 5 |
| Misc. | 3 | -2.92% | 0.58% | 1 / 2 |
| Modarabas | 1 | -2.97% | 0.02% | 0 / 1 |
| Leather & Tanneries | 1 | -2.99% | 0.56% | 0 / 1 |
| Pharma | 7 | -3.49% | 2.68% | 2 / 5 |
| Inv. Banks / Securities | 2 | -3.59% | 2.16% | 0 / 2 |
| Tech & Communication | 5 | -3.70% | 3.26% | 1 / 4 |
| Tobacco | 1 | -4.10% | 2.14% | 0 / 1 |
| Transport | 1 | -4.75% | 0.17% | 0 / 1 |
| Textile Weaving | 1 | -4.99% | 0.01% | 0 / 1 |
| Cable & Electrical | 1 | -6.88% | 0.22% | 0 / 1 |
| Synthetic & Rayon | 1 | -12.82% | 0.50% | 0 / 1 |
Company winners and losers
These are percentage returns, not index contributions; company size changes their impact.
| Top five gainers | Sector | 31 Jul close | 31 Aug close | August return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNERGY — Cnergyico PK Limited | Refinery | Rs. 10.74 | Rs. 15.46 | +43.95% |
| ATRL — Attock Refinery Limited | Refinery | Rs. 968.10 | Rs. 1,197.49 | +23.69% |
| GADT — Gadoon Textile Mills Limited | Textile Spinning | Rs. 275.26 | Rs. 329.58 | +19.73% |
| POWER — Power Cement Limited | Cement | Rs. 20.19 | Rs. 22.89 | +13.37% |
| APL — Attock Petroleum Limited | Oil & Gas Mktng | Rs. 533.66 | Rs. 584.30 | +9.49% |
| Top five losers | Sector | 31 Jul close | 31 Aug close | August return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEHT — Mehmood Textile Mills Limited | Textile Composite | Rs. 194.46 | Rs. 141.41 | -27.28% |
| AGP — AGP Limited | Pharma | Rs. 190.93 | Rs. 163.46 | -14.39% |
| IBFL — Ibrahim Fibres Limited | Synthetic & Rayon | Rs. 307.03 | Rs. 267.68 | -12.82% |
| HMB — Habib Metropolitan Bank Limited | Commercial Banks | Rs. 112.37 | Rs. 101.31 | -9.84% |
| SHFA — Shifa International Hospitals Limited | Misc. | Rs. 520.84 | Rs. 484.61 | -6.96% |
What to watch in September
- Whether breadth catches up with the index. A second positive month with more than 44 advancing constituents would be a stronger confirmation than index gains driven by a handful of large companies.
- Banks and fertiliser. Together they represented 37.86% of this market-cap basket at month-end. Their modest August weakness matters more to the index than the performance of many small sectors.
- Whether the refinery move broadens or remains concentrated. Refinery returns were exceptional, but the sector’s small weight limits its index effect unless the rally spreads to larger parts of the market.
Caveats
This is an analytical view of the 100 companies in pktkr’s KSE-100 daily CSVs, not an official index attribution. Market-cap-weighted sector and basket returns use each company’s total end-August market capitalisation, whereas the official KSE-100 uses its own methodology and free-float weights. Closing prices and returns are not adjusted for dividends. The SRVI starting price is adjusted for its 10-for-1 share split; without that adjustment, its price change would be mechanically misleading. This report is informational, not investment advice.