Monday, April 27 2026

Selling at bourse as stalled Iran-US talks dent sentiments
Selling pressure was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding nearly 1,200 points during the opening minutes of trading on Monday. At 9:34am, the benchmark index was hovering at 169,472.94, a decrease of 1,199.10 points or 0.70%. Selling was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies and OMCs. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, OGDC, PPL, PSO, MCB, MEBL and UBL, traded in the red. “The sentiment remains cautious as investors weigh a weekend of heavy diplomatic and economic news,” said Behtari Capital. During the previous week, Pakistan’s stock market remained under pressure, as persistent geopolitical uncertainty surrounding US-Iran ceasefire negotiations, elevated global oil prices, additional IMF-linked policy concerns and domestic energy shortages combined to dampen investor sentiment.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators psx stock-exchanges

Policy rate: MPC meets today amid geopolitical uncertainty
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the third of this calendar year, will meet today (Monday) to discuss the country’s economic issues and decide on the policy rate. At its previous meeting, held on March 09, 2026, the MPC, in line with market expectations, kept its benchmark policy rate unchanged at 10.5%. Market experts showed mixed expectations regarding the central bank decision as the geopolitical situation remains tense. Arif Habib Limited (AHL) anticipates that the SBP is expected to keep the policy rate unchanged. “The world is negotiating peace amid uncertainty; therefore, at a time like this, we believe policy must continue to lean toward discipline over impulse.” On the other hand, Topline Securities, another brokerage house, expects interest rates to increase by 50bps “to absorb the impact of rising oil prices, and its indirect/lagged impact on other commodities and to contain nonessential imports”.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators misc

Gold falls on firm dollar, oil-driven inflation fears as US-Iran talks stall
Gold fell on Monday, pressured by a firm dollar, while higher oil prices heightened fears of inflation and higher-for-longer interest rates as US-Iran ​peace talks remained stalled. Fundamentals Spot gold was down 0.3% at $4,694.26 ‌per ounce, as of 0059 GMT. Last week, the metal lost 2.5% to snap a four-week winning streak. Get the latest news from India and how it matters to the world with the Reuters India File newsletter. Sign up here. US gold futures for June delivery fell 0.9% to $4,697.60. US President ​Donald Trump said on Sunday Iran could telephone if it wants ​to negotiate an end to their two-month war and stressed it ⁠can never have a nuclear weapon, after Tehran said the US should ​remove obstacles to a deal, including its blockade of Iran’s ports.
Related news categories: business misc

KAPCO, Fauji Cement acquire 92.03% controlling stake in Attock Cement
Kot Addu Power Company Limited (KAPCO) announced on Monday that Fauji Cement Company Limited and KAPCO had successfully taken over a controlling stake (92.03%) in Attock Cement. This was announced in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange today. “We would like to inform that the transaction has been executed today, i.e. on April 24, 2026, upon completion of all contractual conditions and compliance with applicable corporate and regulatory requirements, including a mandatory tender offer under the provisions of the Securities Act, 2015 and the Listed Companies (Substantial Acquisitions of Voting Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2017 (Takeover Laws),” the notice said.
Related news categories: business cement economic-indicators power-gen-dist psx stock-exchanges
Related symbols: acpl (news stock) fccl, (news stock) kapco, (news stock)

Indus Motor to invest another Rs1bn for ‘localisation of parts’
Indus Motor Company Limited (INDU) announced that its board has approved an additional investment of Rs1 billion (~$3.59 million) to enhance what it called localisation of production. The company, the maker of Toyota-brand vehicles in the country, shared the development in its notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday. “This is in continuation of our letter dated August 30, 2024, addressed to the PSX regarding the ‘investment of Rs4.1 billion for the localisation of parts and components of various existing vehicles,’ which is currently ongoing and is expected to be completed by the end of the calendar year 2026,” read the notice.
Related news categories: auto-assembler business economic-indicators psx stock-exchanges
Related symbols: indu (news stock)