What is Book Closure & Ex-Date on the PSX?
Book closure is the period when a PSX company freezes its shareholder register to determine who receives an announced dividend, bonus, or rights entitlement. To qualify, you must own the shares before the ex-date — buying on or after it means buying without the entitlement.
How it works
Companies announce a book-closure window with corporate results or actions. Because trades settle T+2, the ex-date falls before the closure start: purchases from the ex-date onward settle too late to make the register.
Prices adjust mechanically on the ex-date — roughly by the dividend amount, or by the dilution factor for bonus and rights issues — so the apparent 'drop' on that morning is entitlement leaving the price, not selling pressure.
Common questions
If I buy a PSX stock one day before the ex-date, do I get the dividend?
Yes — a purchase before the ex-date settles in time to be on the register during book closure, so the entitlement is yours even though cash arrives later.