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
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 c
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 fir
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 ke
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on Monday notified a slight decrease in the LPG price for the month of March. The authority states that the LPG producer price is linked with the Saudi Aramco-CP and the US dollar exchange rate. Compared to the previous month, Saudi Aramco-CP has remained unchanged. The average Dollar exchange rate has, however, decreased by 0.11 percent, resulting in