Easing Gulf situation drives optimism; investors focus on banking, cement, fertiliser sectors KARACHI: Renewed investor optimism lifted the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday as the benchmark KSE-100 index surged more than 2,100 points, driven by a robust buying momentum across major sectors following a sharp decline in international oil prices. The KSE-100 settled at…
NAFSA to replace outdated plant protection regime with AI-powered digital platform QUALITY SERVICES: Cheema said NAFSA is one of the most significant institutional reforms in Pakistan’s agriculture sector and will greatly improve the business environment for importers and exporters dealing in plants, seeds, and other agricultural products. PHOTO: FILE ISLAMABAD: The government is establishing a…
ISLAMABAD: Gujranwala Electric Power Company (GEPCO) reduced its line losses to 9.80% in FY2025-26, down from 10.43% a year earlier, marking the first time the company has brought losses into single digits, according to a statement on Monday. The improvement was accompanied by a recovery rate exceeding 100%, zero contribution to the national circular debt,…
Latest revision takes petrol to Rs331.95 per litre and HSD to Rs389.93 under the new pricing system As the city runs on fumes, motorcyclists line up at a petrol pump in Karachi, waiting their turn amid surge in fuel prices. Photo: Jalal Qureshi / Express The federal government on Monday reduced the prices of petrol…
Tech exports cross $4.6b mark; experts call for shift from low-cost labour to high-value products KARACHI: Pakistan, which set its eyes on $5 billion in IT and IT-enabled services exports, closed the 2025-26 fiscal year with a record $4.6 billion in exports, a roughly 21% rise from $3.814 billion in the previous year. The figure…
Buying sweeps banking, cement, energy and power stocks amid optimism over lower global crude prices KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) kicked off the trading week on a bullish note on Monday, with the benchmark KSE-100 index surging nearly 2,750 points shortly after the opening bell as investors cheered a sharp decline in global oil…
The sun sets behind oil pumps outside Vaudoy-en-Brie, near Paris, France, March 18, 2026—REUTERS Oil prices skidded and US and European stock futures rose on Monday as hopes of a peace deal in the Middle East grew, while the yen firmed to a three-month high after the US and Japan confirmed joint intervention to prop up the frail currency….
A Japanese yen note is seen in this illustration. Photo: Reuters Japan and the United States conducted coordinated yen-buying intervention and will not hesitate to take further action, Japan’s finance ministry said on Monday, confirming a rare bilateral action to halt the yen’s slide to fresh 40-year lows. The move underscored both countries’ resolve to…
Fiscal financing, credit expansion, bank deposits boosted by remittances expand broad money supply ISLAMABAD’: Pakistan’s export sector continues to underperform despite repeated currency depreciations, IMF-supported stabilisation and periodic policy interventions. Merchandise exports have largely remained between $28-32 billion over the past four years. Exports reached $32.1 billion in FY2025, but declined 6.8% to $30.13 billion…
ISLAMABAD: As the national pension bill threatens to consume development budgets, a transition to decentralised, privately managed Defined Contribution funds offers a sustainable lifeline for Pakistan’s economic future. Deep within the ledgers of Pakistan’s federal and provincial budgets lies a ticking time bomb. It is not an external debt obligation, nor is it a sudden…