Wednesday, April 01 2026

KSE-100 gains over 5,000 points amid war de-escalation hopes
Bulls roared back at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) amid hopes of a de-escalation in the Iran-US war, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 5,000 points during the trading session on Wednesday. At 10:55am, the benchmark index was hovering at 153,764.13, up by 5,020.82 points or 3.38%. Buying momentum was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks, including HBL, MCB, MEBL, UBL, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, PSO, HUBCO and ARL, traded in the green. On Tuesday, PSX witnessed a strong recovery as fresh institutional and retail buying helped the benchmark indices rebound sharply after consecutive sessions of losses, with investor sentiment improving on the back of positive macroeconomic signals and supportive corporate developments.
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Asia markets rally on optimism Iran war could end soon
Stocks and bonds rallied and the dollar wallowed at the ‌start of the Asian trading session on Wednesday on hopes of a de-escalation in the Iran conflict, while significantly better-than-expected economic data for March propelled a rebound in Korean and Japanese shares. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 2.7%, snapping a four-day losing streak as South Korea’s Kospi surged as much as ​5.5%. The Nikkei 225 also jumped 3.9% at one point, after US President Donald Trump said the United States could end its ​military attacks on Iran within two to three weeks and that Tehran did not have to make a ⁠deal as a prerequisite for the conflict winding down. “They’re still quite far apart in terms of what a truce means, or what ​peace means, but the market is embracing the fact that they are talking,” said Rodrigo Catril, currency strategist at National Australia Bank in Sydney.
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OPEC oil output plunges in March: Survey
OPEC oil output plunged in March to its lowest level since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in June 2020, a Reuters survey found, as the US-Israeli war against Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz and forced export cuts. Crude output by Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries members in March fell by 7.3 million barrels per day month-on-month to 21.57 million bpd, the survey showed, led by cuts in Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. OPEC and its allies including Russia, known as OPEC+, had agreed to hold production steady in the first quarter of 2026 and to resume increasing supplies in April. The eight members that had been increasing output are due to meet on April 5. Analysts at Energy Aspects forecast in a March 16 report this month’s OPEC crude production would fall by 7.0 million bpd to 22.2 million bpd because of the shipping disruptions.
Related news categories: business misc oilgas-exploration oilgas-marketing

Digital invoices issuance: FBR allows registered persons to engage licensed integrators
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has allowed sales tax-registered persons to engage one or more licenced integrators, required for integration of its electronic invoicing hardware and software with the Board’s computerised system. The FBR has issued Sales Tax General Order #01 of 2026/ IR Operations here on Tuesday on the subject of “Issuance of Electronic Sales Tax Invoices and Integration of Registered Persons.” According to the FBR, whereas, the provisions of sub-sections (5) and (6) of Section 23 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 mandate the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to require any person or class of persons to integrate their electronic invoicing system with the Board’s computerised system for real-time reporting of sales in such mode, manner, and from such date as may be specified therein, and further provide that such integration shall be carried out by licenced integrators in the prescribed manner.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators tech-comm

Gold ticks up as dollar slips on Mideast de-escalation hopes
Gold prices edged higher on Wednesday to their highest in nearly two weeks, supported by a weaker dollar as US President Donald Trump said the war with Iran could wind down within two to ​three weeks. Spot gold rose 0.4% to $4,685.79 per ounce by 0228 GMT, having hit its ​highest level since March 20 at $4,723.21 earlier in the day. US gold ⁠futures for April delivery gained 0.8% to $4,713.40. The US dollar fell 0.2%, making greenback-denominated commodities more ​affordable for holders of other currencies. “Talks that the U.S. might wrap up the war in ​two to three weeks even if the Strait (of Hormuz) is not reopened reinvigorated the US equity markets and pulled gold higher along with it,” said Marex analyst Edward Meir.
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