Friday, August 28 2026

Stocks close flat on profit-taking
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed almost unchanged on Thursday as late profit-taking wiped out an early rally, leaving the KSE-100 index down almost 50 points. The benchmark index surged as much as 1,279 points to the intra-day high of 178,650 amid falling oil prices and hopes of progress in US-Iran talks. Selling then set in after a batch of corporate results, dragging the index to the low of 177,196 before a modest recovery towards the close. At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE-100 index posted a modest decline of 47.93 points, or 0.03%, and settled at 177,322.78.
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PSX Closing Bell: A Little Offbeat
The benchmark KSE-100 Index concluded Thursday’s trading session at 177,322.77, showing a decrease of 47.93 points or 0.03%. The index traded in a range of 1,453.73 points, showing an intraday high of 178,650.01 (+1,279.31) and a low of 177,196.28 (-174.42) points. The total volume of the KSE-100 Index was 218.45 million shares. Of the 100 index companies, 48 closed up, 52 closed down.
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APAG IPO fully subscribed on first day
The Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Agro Processors & Atmospheric Gases Limited (APAG) has been fully subscribed on the very first day, reflecting strong investor interest in the company's public offering. According to the latest PSX book-building data, the cumulative bid volume reached 43.94 million shares, representing 100.92% of the total offer volume. The highest demand was recorded at the PKR 32.00 per share price level, where investors placed bids for 30.56 million shares, accounting for around 69.6% of the cumulative bids.
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ABOT 1HCY26 profit rises 17%
Abbott Laboratories (Pakistan) Limited (PSX: ABOT) reported a 17% increase in its net profit for the half-year ended June 30, 2026 (1HCY26), reaching Rs4.14bn compared to Rs3.54bn in the corresponding period last year. Reflecting this solid bottom-line growth, basic and diluted earnings per share (EPS) for the six-month period improved to Rs42.29, up from Rs36.19 in 1HCY25. The primary catalyst behind the financial expansion was a combination of steady local revenue growth and expanded gross margins. Net sales grew by 4% year-on-year to Rs38.03bn, up from Rs36.41bn in 1HCY25, as a 6% increase in local sales (Rs37.15bn) offset a 41% decline in export sales (Rs875.69m). Meanwhile, the cost of sales decreased slightly by 1% to Rs23.58bn, enabling gross profit to expand 15% to Rs14.45bn compared to Rs12.61bn in the prior year.
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Related symbols: abot (news stock)

Packages returns to profit with Rs5bn in 1HCY26
Packages Limited (PSX: PKGS) swung to a consolidated net profit of Rs5.45bn for the half year ended June 30, 2026, reversing a loss of Rs336.80m recorded in the corresponding period last year a complete earnings turnaround driven by strong operational improvement across multiple fronts. Showing this sharp recovery, the company's basic earnings per share (EPS) attributable to equity holders of the parent company swung to Rs42.34 from a loss per share of Rs14.56 in 1HFY25, while diluted EPS stood at Rs39.58. The top-line showed healthy momentum, with net revenue growing 11% year-on-year to Rs108.30bn from Rs97.16bn in the prior period. Cost of sales and services rose at a slower pace of 7% to Rs82.24bn, allowing gross profit to expand by a strong 29% to Rs26.06bn from Rs20.15bn showing meaningful margin improvement driven by better cost management and favourable product mix.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators misc paper-bond psx stock-exchanges
Related symbols: pkgs (news stock)