Friday, October 09 2026

PSX: stocks surge, KSE-100 up 600 points in early trade
Buying interest was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 600 points as sentiment improved after US President Donald Trump said the country will not attack Iran ​before US elections next month amid productive talks to end their ‌war that has disrupted the market. At 9:30am, the benchmark index was hovering at 168,043.33, up 601.43 points or 0.36%. Buying was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, SSGC, PSO, HBL, MEBL, MCB and UBL, traded in the green.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators psx stock-exchanges

IMF, Pakistan reach staff-level agreement on EFF, RSF reviews
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff and Pakistan have reached a staff-level agreement on the fourth review of the $7-billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the third review of the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), while completing the 2026 Article IV consultation. IMF team, led by Iva Petrova, held discussions under the 2026 Article IV consultation and on the fourth review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the third review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) in Karachi and Islamabad from September 23 to October 7, 2026. At the conclusion of the discussions, Petrova issued the following statement on Thursday:
Related news categories: business economic-indicators misc

SBP-held foreign exchange reserves rise $15mn to $21.45bn
Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased by $15 million week-on-week to $21.45 billion as of October 2, 2026, the central bank said on Thursday. According to data released by the SBP, the country’s total liquid foreign reserves stood at $26.80 billion during the week ended October 2. The reserves held by the SBP increased to $21.454 billion, while net foreign reserves held by commercial banks stood at $5.344 billion.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators misc

Q1 cement sector profits likely to rise 16pc to Rs32.4bn YoY
Profitability of the topline cement universe is expected to increase 16 percent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs32.4 billion in 1QFY27 from Rs27.8 billion in 1QFY26, according to Topline Research. The research house expects sector profitability to increase 16 percent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) as well. The YoY increase is primarily attributed to higher net sales amid increased retention prices, while the QoQ increase is expected to be driven by higher other income, mainly due to dividend income from Lucky Electric Power Company Limited (LEPCL) to Lucky Cement (LUCK).
Related news categories: business cement economic-indicators psx stock-exchanges

Foreign income: IRIS drops reduced tax rate option
Taxpayers declaring foreign income are facing serious difficulties in filing their income tax returns for tax year 2026, as the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) IRIS portal no longer offers the option to apply reduced tax rates on such income. M. Amayed Ashfaq Tola, President Tola Associates told Business Recorder here on Thursday that the “Attribute” tab, which was available in last year’s return form, has been removed from this year’s version of the return on the IRIS portal.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators misc