Friday, October 17 2025

Volatility at bourse, KSE-100 sheds over 300 points in early trade
Volatility was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index losing over 300 points during the trading opening hours. At 10:25am, the benchmark index was hovering at 164,096.19, a decrease of 348.52 points or 0.21%. Selling was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks ARL, HUBCO, MARI, POL, PSO, SSGC, SNGPL, MCB, MEBL and UBL, traded in the red. On Thursday, the PSX closed on a negative note as heavy profit-taking in major sectors, even as the bourse witnessed its highest-ever trading volume on record. The benchmark KSE-100 Index fell by 1,241.66 points, or 0.75%, to close at 164,444.72 points
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Privatisation of PIA, airports: Saudi Finance Minister briefed
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has met with his Saudi counterpart Mohammed Al-Jadaan in Washington DC and briefed him on the privatization of the state-owned Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and airports as Islamabad seeks “strategic investments,” the finance ministry said on Thursday. The meeting between Aurangzeb and the Saudi finance minister took place on the sidelines of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meetings, where he has held a number of engagements with finance officials and business leaders from various countries and institutions. The cash-strapped South Asian nation is looking to privatize the debt-ridden PIA to raise funds and reform loss-making, state-owned enterprises as envisaged under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.
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Related symbols: PIAHCLA (news stock)

Pakistan deepens global partnerships as Japan’s JBIC joins Reko Diq lender group
Strengthening economic ties with major economic partners, Pakistan secured a significant boost in investor confidence after the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) agreed to join the Reko Diq lender group, during Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s series of high-level meetings in Washington DC with officials from the US, China, and Japan. Aurangzeb continued his engagements on the fourth day of his visit to Washington DC, where he is attending the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group, read a statement released on Friday. During his interaction, the finance minister met with Nobumitsu Hayashi, Governor of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), and “welcomed JBIC’s formal commitment to join the Reko Diq lender group, noting that this move would strengthen investor confidence and encourage Japanese businesses to expand their presence in Pakistan”.
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Mari Energies announces oil & gas discovery in Sindh
Mari Energies Limited (MARI) announced on Friday the discovery of oil and gas in Sindh’s Mari Ghazij CF-B1 Well. MARI disclosed the development in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday. “Mari Ghazij CF-B1 well was spud-in on September 12, 2025 and successfully drilled down to the total depth of 1,195 meters into SUL formation,” the company said. Mari Energies announces first gas discovery at Soho-1 well in Sindh In its notice, MARI further said that the well targeted the oil-prone zones within Ghazij formation. “During testing, the well produced 305 barrels per day of oil along with 3 MMSCFD gas with wellhead flowing pressure (WHFP) of 225 Psi at 48/64 inch choke size.”
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Related symbols: mari (news stock)

Intra-day update: rupee strengthens against US dollar
The Pakistani rupee registered significant gain against the US dollar, appreciating 0.07% during the opening hours of trading in the inter-bank market on Friday. At 10:20am, the local currency was hovering at 280.90, up by Re0.21 against the US dollar. On Thursday, the local unit closed at 281.11, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). Globally, the US dollar remained on the back foot on Friday as global trade frictions and signs of weakness in the US economy supported the case for more rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The dollar index is set for its biggest weekly drop in almost three months as an extended shutdown of the US government blocked the publication of key economic data. The yen held on to gains after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda spoke about factors that could lead to a rate increase this month.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators misc