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KSE100168,636.85−0.78%
KSE3050,262.67−0.75%
KMI30241,515.75−0.86%
ALLSHR102,097.08−0.77%
KSE100PR50,814.61−0.78%
KMIALLSHR66,137.02−0.78%
PSXDIV2077,486.22−0.60%
BKTI46,890.47−0.52%
OGTI34,227.31−1.41%

PSX glossary of 95+ stock market terms, A to Z

Plain-English definitions of PSX terms for beginners, from AGM, ATL and BMR to CDC, CGT, LDCP, NCCPL, TREC, UIN and XD, one line each.

Beginner lesson, 7 min read. Updated 1 October 2026.

Bookmark this page. These are the terms you will meet in broker apps, PSX announcements and financial news, each explained in one line. Where a term has its own lesson, we point you there.

A

  • AGM (annual general meeting): the yearly meeting where shareholders approve accounts, final dividends and directors.
  • All Share Index: a PSX index that includes every listed company.
  • AMC (asset management company): an SECP-licensed company that runs mutual funds.
  • Ask (offer): the lowest price at which someone is currently willing to sell a share.
  • ATL (Active Taxpayers List): FBR's list of tax filers; being on it means lower tax on dividends and capital gains.
  • ATH (all-time high): the highest level a stock or index has ever reached; the KSE-100's was 189,167 on 23 January 2026.

B

  • Bear market: a long period of falling prices, often defined as a fall of 20% or more.
  • BFR: a newer broker rating that SECP is introducing to replace the older BMR and ECR ratings; check the latest rating on the rating agency's website.
  • Bid: the highest price a buyer is currently offering for a share.
  • Blue chip: a large, well-established company with a long record, such as OGDC, FFC or MCB.
  • BMR (Broker Management Rating): a rating by PACRA or VIS of how well a brokerage is managed; BMR1 is the highest.
  • Bonus shares: free extra shares given to existing shareholders in proportion to their holding, taxed at 10% for filers since July 2023.
  • Book closure: the days when a company freezes its shareholder register to decide who gets a dividend, bonus or rights.
  • Book value: a company's assets minus its liabilities, as shown in its accounts.
  • Broker: a PSX-licensed firm that places your buy and sell orders; see our brokers page.
  • Bull market: a long period of rising prices.

C

  • Capital gain: profit from selling a share for more than you paid.
  • CCPF: the PSX investor compensation fund, which can pay up to Rs 1 million per claimant if a broker defaults.
  • CDC (Central Depository Company): the body that holds shares electronically, in your own sub-account.
  • CDC Access: CDC's app and online service for checking your holdings.
  • CDC Investor Account (IAS): an account held directly with CDC rather than through a broker, for extra safety.
  • CGT (capital gains tax): tax on profit from selling shares; for filers on shares bought from 1 July 2024 it is 15%, but check current rates.
  • Circuit breaker: the daily limit on a stock's price move, currently 10% from LDCP or Rs 1, whichever is greater.
  • Contract note: the confirmation your broker sends after each trade, listing price, quantity and charges.
  • Corporate action: a company event that affects shareholders, such as a dividend, bonus, split or rights issue.
  • CVT (capital value tax): a small tax charged on the value of share purchases, shown on your contract note.

D

  • Day range: the lowest and highest prices traded during the current session.
  • Dividend: a cash payment from a company's profit to shareholders; in Urdu, منافع منقسمہ (munafa-e-munqasma).
  • Dividend yield: yearly dividends per share divided by the share price.
  • Diversification: spreading money across companies, sectors and asset types to reduce risk.
  • DPS (dividend per share): the cash dividend paid on each share; also the PSX Data Portal (dps.psx.com.pk).
  • Drawdown: the fall from a peak to a later low.

E

  • EPS (earnings per share): profit after tax divided by the number of shares.
  • ETF (exchange-traded fund): a fund that tracks an index and trades on the PSX like a share.
  • Ex-date (XD): the first day a share trades without the right to an announced dividend; buy before it to get the dividend.

F

  • Face value (par value): the nominal value of a share, usually Rs 10; PSX dividends are quoted as a % of it.
  • Filer: a person on FBR's Active Taxpayers List.
  • Free float: the shares available for public trading, excluding sponsor and government blocks.
  • Fundamental analysis: judging a share by studying the business, its profits and its valuation.
  • Futures: contracts to buy or sell shares at a future date; risky and not for beginners.

H

  • Haircut: the percentage by which a share's value is reduced when it is used as collateral.

I

  • Index: a single number tracking a basket of shares, such as the KSE-100.
  • Interim dividend: a dividend paid during the year, before the annual results.
  • IPO (initial public offering): when a company first sells shares to the public and lists on the PSX.

K

  • KMI-30: the index of 30 large, liquid Shariah-compliant PSX companies.
  • KMI All Share Index: the index of all Shariah-compliant PSX companies.
  • KSE-100: the PSX's main index of 100 large companies.
  • KSE100PR: the price-return version of the KSE-100, which excludes dividends.
  • KSE-30: an index of 30 large, liquid companies; a 5% move triggers a market-wide halt.

L

  • LDCP (last day closing price): the previous session's official closing price.
  • Limit order: an order to buy or sell only at a set price or better.
  • Liquidity: how easily a share can be bought or sold without moving its price.
  • Lot: the trading unit for a share; since 2024 most PSX shares trade in one-share lots.
  • Lower lock / upper lock: when a stock hits the bottom or top of its daily circuit breaker.

M

  • Margin financing: borrowing from a broker to buy shares; it magnifies losses.
  • Market cap (market capitalisation): share price multiplied by the number of shares.
  • Market halt: a temporary stop to all trading, triggered when the KSE-30 moves 5% for five minutes.
  • Market order: an order to buy or sell immediately at the best available price.
  • MUFAP: the Mutual Funds Association of Pakistan, which publishes all fund NAVs.
  • Mutual fund: a pooled investment run by an AMC, sold in units.

N

  • NAV (net asset value): the value of one mutual fund unit.
  • NCCPL (National Clearing Company of Pakistan): the body that clears and settles PSX trades.
  • Non-filer: someone not on the ATL, who pays higher withholding taxes.

O

  • Odd-lot market: a separate PSX market for quantities smaller than a product's regular lot, now mainly for ETFs.
  • Open: the first traded price of the session after pre-open.

P

  • Payout ratio: dividends per share divided by EPS.
  • P/B (price to book): share price divided by book value per share.
  • P/E (price to earnings): share price divided by yearly EPS.
  • Portfolio: all the investments you own.
  • Post-close session: a short session after the close where trades happen at the closing price.
  • Pre-open session: the period before the open when orders are entered and matched to set the opening price.
  • PSX (Pakistan Stock Exchange): Pakistan's single stock exchange, formed in 2016.
  • PSXDIV20: the PSX Dividend 20 index of high-yield companies.
  • Purification: giving to charity the non-compliant share of dividends from Shariah-compliant stocks.

R

  • Rights issue: an offer to existing shareholders to buy new shares, usually below market price.
  • ROE (return on equity): profit after tax divided by shareholders' equity.

S

  • Sahulat account: a simplified PSX trading account opened with a CNIC, with an investment limit of Rs 3 million.
  • SECP: the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, the market regulator.
  • Sector: a group of companies in the same industry, such as banks or cement.
  • Settlement: the exchange of money and shares after a trade; PSX uses T+1.
  • Shariah-compliant: a company that passes Islamic screening on business, debt, income and assets.
  • Short selling: selling shares you do not own, hoping to buy back cheaper; not for beginners.
  • Spread: the gap between the bid and ask prices.
  • Stock split: dividing each share into several smaller ones, such as LUCK's 5-for-1 split in 2025.
  • Stop-loss: an order that sells if the price falls to a level you set.
  • Support / resistance: price levels where buying or selling has tended to stop moves.

T

  • T+1: settlement one business day after the trade, used by PSX since 9 February 2026.
  • Technical analysis: studying price charts and volume to judge trends.
  • Total return: price change plus dividends received.
  • TREC (Trading Right Entitlement Certificate): the licence a broker holds to trade on the PSX.
  • TTM (trailing twelve months): figures covering the last four reported quarters.

U

  • UIN (Unique Identification Number): the identifier NCCPL uses for each investor, based on your CNIC.

V

  • VAR (value at risk): a risk margin percentage used by NCCPL for each stock.
  • Volatility: how much a price swings up and down.
  • Volume: the number of shares traded in a period.

W

  • WHT (withholding tax): tax deducted at source, for example 15% on most dividends for filers.

X

  • XB / XD / XR: symbol suffixes showing a stock is trading ex-bonus, ex-dividend or ex-rights.

Y

  • YTD (year to date): the change since 1 January of the current year.

Key points

  • LDCP, circuit breaker, volume and bid/ask are the quote terms you will use most.
  • CDC holds your shares, NCCPL settles trades, SECP regulates, and TREC holders are licensed brokers.
  • Tax terms to know: ATL, filer, WHT, CGT and CVT.
  • Dividend terms to know: face value, book closure, ex-date (XD), payout ratio and yield.

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