Tuesday, January 20 2026

Stocks surge, KSE-100 crosses 188,000 level in early trade
Stocks maintained their upward momentum at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossing the 188,000 level during the opening minutes of trading on Tuesday. At 9:40am, the benchmark index was hovering at 188,545.00, an increase of 783.31 points or 0.42%. Buying interest was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and refinery. Index-heavy stocks, including ARL, MARI, OGDC, POL, PSO, SNGPL, MCB, NBP and UBL, traded in the green. The rally comes amid growing expectations of a policy rate cut in the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting scheduled for January 26, following signals of further monetary easing from recent Treasury bills and Pakistan Investment Bond auctions. In a key development, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowered Pakistan’s economic growth outlook, cutting its GDP projection for the current fiscal year to 3.2%, down from 3.6% estimated in its October 2025 World Economic Outlook.
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Global stocks fall after Trump’s tariff threats
Global stocks dropped and the dollar eased against the safe-haven yen and Swiss franc on Monday after US President Donald Trump threatened additional tariffs on goods imported from European nations that oppose his planned takeover of Greenland. Gold and silver prices jumped to new record peaks, while oil dipped on concerns about what a possible trade war between the US and Europe could mean for global growth and demand. US cash equity markets are closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, although S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures both dropped over 1.2 percent. In Europe, the STOXX 600 index fell 1.2 percent. Blue-chip indexes in Frankfurt, Paris and London were down 0.4 percent to 1.7 percent. Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.7 percent, and MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed.
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SBP governor for mitigating digital innovation-related risks
Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Jameel Ahmad has warned that while digital innovation offers vast opportunities for the financial sector, it also brings significant risks, including cybersecurity threats, data breaches, and challenges to consumer protection. He said that to mitigate these risks, financial institutions must go beyond basic compliance and they must have robust data protection frameworks and uphold the highest regulatory standards. “Human oversight remains essential to monitor AI driven decisions, especially in sensitive areas such as credit approval and customer due diligence,” he mentioned.While speaking at the sixth AlBaraka Forum Regional Conference, themed “Islamic Economy in the Digital Age: Innovation within the Framework of Compliance” here on Monday, Governor SBP said the global financial system is undergoing one of the most profound transformations in history and presently more than 70 percent of people worldwide use at least one digital financial service and over 80 percent are willing to shift to digital banking.
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APTMA raises its concerns over current electricity pricing structure
All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has raised serious concerns over the current electricity pricing structure, warning that Pakistan’s industrial base is being pushed toward irreparable decline due to unaffordable energy costs and an unsustainable cross-subsidy mechanism embedded in the national power tariff framework. Textile exports constituting more than 60 percent of Pakistan’s total export have been drastically declining for the past five consecutive months, with a sharp 8 percent drop recorded in December 2025 alone, underscoring the immediate economic impact of these distortions. Kamran Arshad Chairman APTMA addressing a largely attended Press Conference at Lahore criticised the government for not passing on to industrial consumers the benefit of a recent reduction in the base electricity tariff determined by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA).
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Malaysia posts record-high trade in 2025 as December exports surge
Malaysia saw a record-high trade performance in 2025 with a higher-than-expected surge in outbound shipments in December boosting the export-reliant economy, government data showed on Tuesday. Total trade for 2025 reached a record value of 3.1 trillion ringgit ($765.4 billion), a 6.3% increase from a year ago, the trade ministry said in a statement. Exports in 2025 rose 6.5% year-on-year, while imports grew 6.2% annually, resulting in a trade surplus of 151.8 billion ringgit over the year, the ministry said. “This performance was achieved despite rising global uncertainties, including geopolitical tensions, supply chain realignments and rising risks of protectionism,” the ministry said.
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