{
  "id": 16432088,
  "title": "Equities fall 2.4pc as oil prices, geopolitical tensions unsettle investors",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/25/equities-fall-2-4pc-as-oil-prices-geopolitical-tensions-unsettle",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-25T01:19:57.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn Business",
    "slug": "dawn-business",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2039568/equities-fall-24pc-as-oil-prices-geopolitical-tensions-unsettle-investors"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Rising oil prices and persistent geopolitical uncertainty unsettled investors during the week, leading to a 2.4% drop in the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) benchmark index, the KSE-100. The index fell 4,045 points to close at 162,375 per share. The hike in Brent crude oil prices by 6.4% to $114.9 per barrel added to concerns over imported inflation and the economic outlook. Banking, technology, investment banking, cement, and power stocks were the biggest drag on the market, contributing 925, 512, 507, 459, and 266 points respectively. Notable negative contributors included Engro Holdings, Systems Ltd, Lucky Cement, Attock Refinery, and Hub Power Company. Individual stocks like Pakistan Stock Exchange Ltd, Thal Chemical, Unilever Pakistan Foods, Bestway Cement, and Nestle Pakistan performed well. Pakistan's GDP growth for the fiscal year was revised down to 3.65% from the provisional estimate of 3.7%, while the World Bank projected growth of 3.8% for FY27 and inflation of 8.2%. The country's liquid foreign exchange reserves fell by $30.3 million to $26.83 billion, providing an import cover of 3.01 months. The rupee appreciated marginally by 0.03% against the dollar. Domestic petroleum prices fell during the week, with petrol easing 3.2% to Rs377.71 per litre and high-speed diesel dipping 1.3% to Rs391.75. The power generation rose 5% year-on-year to 13,217 gigawatt-hours in September, but the average generation cost rose 32% to Rs9.35 per unit. Banking sector deposits increased 16% year-on-year to Rs40.8 trillion by end-September, while consumer auto financing rose 33.6% to Rs407 billion. Cotton arrivals increased 8% year-on-year to 4.08 million bales by Oct 15, with Sindh accounting for 2.44 million bales and Punjab 1.64 million. The government set an FY27 production target of 9.64 million bales for cotton.",
  "summary": "KARACHI: Rising oil prices and persistent geopolitical uncertainty kept the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) under selling pressure during the outgoing week, as investors booked profits ahead of the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) monetary policy announcement on Oct 26. The benchmark KSE-100 index fell 2.4 per cent week-on-week (WoW), shedding 4,045 points to close at 162,375. AKD Securities…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}