Tuesday, March 03 2026

Buying returns to bourse, KSE-100 gains over 2,900 points in early trade
A day after observing a massive selloff, buying momentum returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 2,900 points during the opening minutes of trading on Tuesday. At 9:40am, the benchmark index was hovering at 154,878.85, up by 2,905.86 or 1.91%. Buying was observed in key sectors, including cement, commercial banks, fertilizer, E&Ps, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including OGDC, POL, PPL, HUBCO, MCB, MEBL and NBP, traded in the green. On Monday, PSX suffered one of the most dramatic trading days in its history as mounting geopolitical tensions and sharp global risk aversion sparked a massive selloff, wiping out vast amounts of market value and shaking investor confidence nationwide. By the closing bell, the KSE-100 had fallen a staggering 16,089.17 points, i.e. 9.57%, settling at 151,973.00, marking the largest single-day point decline on record.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators psx stock-exchanges

Stocks slide as Middle East conflict fans inflation fears
Stocks resumed their ​selloff and the dollar strengthened in early Asian trading on Tuesday as investors considered the implications ‌of US and Israeli strikes on Iran on energy prices and the global economy. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1% to extend losses for a second day, led by a 2.5% tumble in Korean shares, while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 slumped 0.8%. S&P 500 ​e-mini futures were down 0.2%. “Economic policy uncertainty was already elevated and now with the Iran conflict, the geopolitical ​risk is expected to rise too,” said Rupal Agarwal, Asia quant strategist at Bernstein in ⁠Singapore. “Last time both spiked was in 2022 during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which didn’t work well for Asian markets.” Stocks on ​Wall Street stabilised after a volatile session on Monday which saw the S&P 500 rally from an early selloff to close ​flat and the Nasdaq Composite climb 0.4%, as investors bought the dip in markets after the conflict in the Middle East spilled over into Lebanon.
Related news categories: business misc stock-exchanges

Feb cement despatches up by 12.53pc YoY: APCMA
Cement despatches increased by 12.53 percent in February 2026 as total despatches during the month were recorded at 4.199 million tons against 3.732 million tons despatched during the same month of last fiscal year. According to the data released by All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), local cement despatches by the industry during the month of Feb-26 were 3.467 million tons compared to 3.2 million tons in Feb-25, showing an increase of 8.35 percent. Exports despatches also increased by 37.72 percent as the volumes jumped from 531,736 tons in Feb-25 to 732,333 tons in Feb-26. In Feb-26, the North based cement mills despatched 2.856 million tons cement showing an increase of 7.66 percent against 2.653 million tons despatches in Feb-25. South based mills despatched 1.34 million tons cement during Feb-26 that was 24.50 percent more compared to the despatches of 1.079 million tons during Feb-25.
Related news categories: business cement economic-indicators psx stock-exchanges

Automobile industry remains uncompetitive: CCP
Pakistan’s automobile industry remains structurally uncompetitive due to high entry barriers, inconsistent policies, and market distortions, the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) warned in its automobile sector study. These challenges are limiting investment, innovation, and consumer welfare, the report notes. The study highlighted that market contestability - the ease with which new firms can enter and compete — is constrained by restrictive import policies, shifting tariffs, strict localisation requirements, and limited access to technology and financing. Macroeconomic instability, supply chain disruptions, and the absence of a predictable long-term industrial policy have further increased business risks, discouraging new entrants.
Related news categories: auto-assembler business economic-indicators misc

ME tensions threaten to strain Asian economies: Moody’s
A broader or more drawn-out conflict in the Middle East would risk increasing the strain on emerging Asian economies that have, in past years, struggled with external debt repayment, according to Moody’s Analytics. It said in a commentary on the implications of conflict in the Middle East over APAC economies that the surge in energy and food prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine played a key role in the crises in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. A sustained disruption to Gulf oil exports or maritime traffic could revive debt concerns. Conflict in the Middle East intensified over the weekend as the U.S. and Israel launched military strikes on targets in Iran. Tehran retaliated with missiles and drones aimed at Israel and countries hosting U.S. forces, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators misc