Day: December 2, 2025

KARACHI: Pakistan’s stock market is expected to extend its record-breaking rally into next year, with analysts at Taurus Securities projecting that the KSE-100 index may surpass 200,000 points by December 2026, supported by strong corporate earnings, improved investor confidence, and continued policy anchoring under the IMF programme. The bullish forecast builds on the index’s performance in 2025, as the market absorbs domestic political instability, falling global commodity prices, and active reforms in the energy and fiscal sectors. “We expect the KSE-100 index to reach 206,000 points by the end of…

LONDON: Bitcoin fell below $90,000 on Monday as a sell-off gathered pace following the steepest monthly decline since mid-2021 and as renewed risk aversion drove investors out of stocks and digital assets. The world’s largest cryptocurrency fell 6.1% at one point. By 1120 GMT, it was down 5.2% at $86,461, set for its biggest one-day fall in a month and hovering near last month’s eight-month low of $80,553. Bitcoin shed more than $18,000 in November as a record amount of money rushed out of the market, making this its largest…

ISLAMABAD: The inflation rate stayed above 6.1% for the second consecutive month, but the underlying inflationary pressure receded in November amid strong calls to cut interest rates to reflect ground realities. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported on Monday that the headline inflation rate remained stable at around 6.1% in November compared to a year ago. But the other two indicators, the monthly inflation and non-food, non-energy inflation, decelerated, which showed that there was no buildup of price pressure last month. The central bank has been resisting demands from…

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) welcomed both the first trading day of December and the first session of the new week with a rebound, gaining nearly 1,400 points. Despite remaining under pressure in the morning, the market made a swift recovery as investor sentiment strengthened. Fresh investment flowed into key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil & gas exploration and marketing. Adding to the upbeat tone, Pakistan’s core inflation for November cooled mildly, slipping to 6.15% from 6.24% in the previous month. Investors interpreted it as…

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s auto industry has expressed its dismay over the rising import of used cars, which is said to have caused a loss of Rs50 billion during the last one year. Pakistan is the only auto manufacturing country in Asia where used vehicles swallow a significant part of the market, accounting for nearly 25% of domestic sales between December 2024 and December 2025. In comparison, the share of used cars remains negligible in regional peers: India has virtually zero used car inflows, Vietnam has 0.3% used car share and Thailand…

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb on Monday said climate change was an urgent economic reality for Pakistan, reaffirming the government’s commitment to advancing sustainable finance, green taxonomy, and climate-aligned disclosure frameworks. Stressing the need to support SMEs in formalising their financial reporting practices, he highlighted Pakistan’s proactive regulatory direction in digital assets and emerging technologies, where new institutional frameworks are being established to bring innovation into the formal, transparent, and compliant economy. The finance minister made these observations while talking to a delegation led by International Federation of…