Monday, July 20 2026

Stocks tumble at PSX as escalating tensions take toll on investor sentiments
Massive selling pressure was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), as the United States and ​Iran expanded attacks in the Middle East, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding nearly 2,000 points during the opening minutes of trading on Monday. At 9:33am, the benchmark index was hovering at 173,812.83, down by 1,989.95 points or 1.13%. Selling was witnessed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including OGDC, MARI, PPL, POL, HUBCO, MCB, MEBL and NBP, traded in the red.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators psx stock-exchanges

40 drugs not available in market due to pending govt price approvals
Around 40 medicines that have already been registered in Pakistan remain unavailable to patients because the federal government has yet to approve their prices. The delay has left thousands of patients, including those battling cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases, with limited treatment options, forcing many to depend on costly personal imports or smuggled and unregistered medicines. The pending medicines include Pembrolizumab (Keytruda), one of the world’s leading immunotherapy drugs approved internationally for more than 20 cancers, including lung, breast, cervical, kidney, bladder, stomach and skin cancers. Other important cancer medicines awaiting price notification include Nivolumab, Irinotecan, Dasatinib and Leucovorin.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators pharma psx stock-exchanges

HBL wins ‘Pakistan’s Best Bank 2026’ award by Euromoney
Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2026 has awarded HBL the accolade of ‘Pakistan’s Best Bank’. The Bank has also won ‘Pakistan’s Best Retail Bank’, ‘Pakistan’s Best Bank for Sustainable Finance’, ‘Pakistan’s Best for Capital Markets Advisory’, and ‘Pakistan’s Best Investment Bank for M&A’. Euromoney is a global English-language publication focused on business and finance. These awards are the most prestigious recognition in the banking industry, globally. The Euromoney citation acknowledges that “Habib Bank Limited (HBL) is recognized as Pakistan’s best bank for 2026, reflecting its market leadership, scale and consistent delivery across retail, corporate, investment and private banking segments, underpinned by strong financial performance and nationwide reach.” The citation went on to note, “The bank played a pivotal role in national development, advising on Pakistan’s inaugural panda bond and supporting major infrastructure projects.”
Related news categories: business comm-banks economic-indicators psx stock-exchanges
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Friday, July 17 2026

Negative sentiment at PSX, KSE-100 down over 500 points
Selling pressure was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as tensions between the US and Iran escalated further, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding over 500 points during the opening minutes of trading on Friday. At 9:35am, the benchmark index was hovering at 177,562.67, down by 560.89 points or 0.31%. Selling was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, MARI, POL, PPL, MCB, MEBL, NBP and UBL, traded in the red.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators psx stock-exchanges

PSX Closing Bell: Bulls Stay in Control
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended its recovery on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index posting another strong gain as investors continued value buying following the previous week's sharp correction. Market sentiment remained upbeat as bargain hunting in fundamentally strong stocks, lifted banking, cement, fertilizer, and power shares. The benchmark KSE-100 Index concluded Thursday's trading session at 178,123.56, up 2,837.78 points or 1.62%. The index remained positive throughout the day, touching an intraday high of 178,431.73 (+3,145.95 points) and a low of 175,672.33 (+386.55 points).
Related news categories: business economic-indicators psx stock-exchanges