Monday, April 20 2026

Selling engulfs bourse, KSE-100 down 3,300 points in early trade
Rising geopolitical tensions took their toll on investor sentiments at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 shedding nearly 3,300 points during the opening minutes of trading on Monday. At 9:35am, the benchmark index was hovering at 170,646.01, down by 3,293.00 points or 1.89%. Selling pressure was observed in key sectors, including cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, PSO, SNGPL, MCB, MEBL and UBL, traded in the red. During the previous week, PSX maintained its bullish trajectory as improving geopolitical conditions and investor confidence fuelled broad-based buying. The benchmark KSE-100 Index surged by 4%, gaining 6,748 points to settle at 173,939 points. Internationally, oil prices jumped, the US dollar lifted from lows and stock markets wobbled on ​Monday as rising tension in the Middle East kept shipping in and out of the Gulf to a bare ‌minimum, though traders were holding out hope for a resolution.
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IMF says ME war to deepen economic divide in Latin America, Caribbean
The war in the Middle East is likely to widen economic differences across Latin America and the Caribbean, giving some short-term support to oil exporters while worsening the outlook for tourism-reliant Caribbean economies and energy-importing countries in Central America, the IMF said on Friday. The warning, issued in a blog post, follows the release earlier this week of the global lender’s updated World Economic Outlook, which projected that the Latin America and Caribbean region would grow 2.3 percent in 2026, little changed from 2.4 percent in 2025, before picking up to 2.7 percent in 2027. Brazil, the region’s largest economy, is forecast to grow 1.9 percent this year, while Mexico is expected to expand by 1.6 percent.
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HBL posts Q1’26 PBT of Rs33.7bn
HBL declared a consolidated profit before tax of Rs 33.7 billion, and a profit after tax of Rs 16.2 billion for the quarter ended March 31, 2026. EPS for Q1’26 was Rs 11.0. Along with the results, the Bank declared an interim dividend of Rs 6.00 per share for the quarter. HBL’s balance sheet increased to Rs 8.1 trillion, with domestic deposits closing at Rs 4.6 trillion and total deposits at Rs 5.4 trillion. Current account remained a priority for the Bank, as a result the domestic CA mix improved to 38.6 percent in March 2026. HBL’s total advances stood north of Rs 2.0 trillion. The Bank’s flagship Consumer portfolio continued its stellar growth trajectory, reaching Rs 180 billion, while the Group’s agriculture financing increased to over Rs 100 billion.
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Need stressed to boost trade among SAARC nations
Pakistan’s business community has called for stronger regional trade integration among South Asian nations, noting that intra-regional trade within SAARC countries remains limited to just 5 percent despite vast potential. Rafique Suleman, spokesperson for the Businessmen Panel (BMP) South and former Chairman Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) has congratulated the leadership of SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s (SAARC CCI), particularly Anjum Nisar Vice President SAARC Chamber, for the completion and inauguration of the SAARC Chamber headquarters in Islamabad. He said this is a positive development for the regional trade promotion as the newly established SAARC headquarter would help facilitate trade, policy dialogue, and research-driven initiatives.
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Business activities: ‘Banks must introduce maximum facilitation’
The business community and the banking sector are closely interconnected, and commercial banks must introduce maximum facilitation to support business activities. This was stated by Syed Salman Ali, Convener of the Standing Committee on Banking Affairs at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), while presiding over a committee meeting. Former LCCI Senior Vice President Ali Hissam Asghar, Syed Mardan Ali Zaidi, and LCCI Executive Committee Members Aamir Ali, Karamat Ali Awan, and Waqas Aslam also addressed the meeting. Other participants included Hammad Khalid, Ramzan Ahmed Raja Shakeel, Muhammad Shahid, Imran Khan, Muhammad Yaseen, Sheikh Aamir Habib, Syed Fahad, Najeeb Chughtai, Imran Asghar, and Kashif Bhatti.
Related news categories: business comm-banks economic-indicators misc