News Archives for Business & Finance - 2026-10-20

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Business & Finance

Govt raises petrol price by Re0.88, diesel by Re0.53 per litre

New prices are effective for October 21

Published 20 Oct, 2026 11:04pm

Stocks

Wall Street gains ground on healthcare stocks rally, oil retreat

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 502.03 points

Published 20 Oct, 2026 09:55pm

World

China says US DeepSeek ban disregards Xi-Trump consensus

Beijing condemns the US order banning its DeepSeek AI from federal agencies, calling for an immediate reversal of the restrictive measures

Published 20 Oct, 2026 07:51pm

Markets

Amazon to recruit over 300,000 workers for holiday season in first hiring jump in three years

Preparing for a massive holiday surge, Amazon plans to add over 300,000 new workers across the US, a significant increase in seasonal recruitment

Published 20 Oct, 2026 07:02pm

Companies

Rubio to encourage India's Reliance to produce, refine more Venezuelan oil

Rubio's India trip aims to boost Venezuelan oil refining by Reliance and finalize a US-India trade deal, following a key sanction waiver

Published 20 Oct, 2026 06:56pm

Stocks

Energy and industrial stocks drag Sri Lankan shares lower

CSE All-Share index settled 0.38% lower at 19,983.78 points

Published 20 Oct, 2026 06:51pm

Stocks

Most Gulf bourses in red after Houthis claim attacks on Saudi energy, airport sites

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index dropped 1.7%

Published 20 Oct, 2026 06:47pm

Technology

Apple commits up to $100 million for US titanium in domestic manufacturing push

Apple boosts US manufacturing with a $100M titanium deal for new iPhones, including its first foldable, strengthening domestic supply chains

Published 20 Oct, 2026 05:09pm

Companies

CCP greenlights Lotte Chemical Pakistan’s stake acquisition in Engro Polymer & Chemicals

The assessment found that LCPL does not operate in any of the identified relevant markets

Published 20 Oct, 2026 03:55pm

Exchange

Rupee registers gain against US dollar

Currency settles at 276.87 against the greenback

Updated 20 Oct, 2026 06:59pm

Commodities

Uncertainty over US tariffs keeps copper trading in a tight range

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.1% at $14,353 a metric ton

Published 20 Oct, 2026 03:45pm

Technology

SECP launches Security Operations Center to strengthen cybersecurity

SOC will provide continuous monitoring of SECP’s networks, endpoints, servers and private cloud environments

Published 20 Oct, 2026 02:24pm

Companies

HUBCO denies BYD plant delay, targets end-2026 launch: report

According to the report, vehicle production will initially rely entirely on imported raw materials and components

Published 20 Oct, 2026 01:50pm

Companies

S.G. Power Ltd renamed Crestwell Healthcare Ltd

The name and trading symbol of S.G. Power Ltd have been changed to Crestwell Healthcare Ltd following a request from...

Published 20 Oct, 2026 01:00pm

Commodities

Gold price per tola drops Rs3,600 per tola in Pakistan

International rate of gold declines by $36 to reach $4,129 per ounce

Updated 20 Oct, 2026 08:44pm

Forex

Australia, NZ dollars firm as French fallout pressures euro

The Aussie was flat at $0.6977, having risen 0.5% overnight and away from a recent 15-week trough of $0.68945

Published 20 Oct, 2026 12:07pm

Stocks

Australian shares head for worst day in nearly three weeks as miners, banks slide

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 1.1% to 8,752.80

Published 20 Oct, 2026 12:05pm

Mutual Funds

Japan's 20-year bond yield falls sharply after strong auction

The 20-year JGB yield fell as much as 6 basis points (bps) to 3.71%

Published 20 Oct, 2026 11:56am

Markets

ABB says data centre business booming, Q3 figures in line with forecasts

Revenue meanwhile rose 14% to $9.70 billion, slightly below forecasts of $9.74 billion in a company gathered consensus

Published 20 Oct, 2026 11:53am

Stocks

South Korean shares fall nearly 3% as AI concerns hit chipmakers

The benchmark KOSPI was down 170.63 points, or 2.96%, at 5,597.38

Published 20 Oct, 2026 11:51am

Markets

UniCredit to buy back securities-services unit from Societe Generale, document shows

Societe Generale bought UniCredit’s securities services unit in 2006

Published 20 Oct, 2026 11:49am

Stocks

CBOT soybeans, corn slide to multi-week lows as harvest advances

The most-traded soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade fell 0.16% to $12.51-1/2 a bushel

Published 20 Oct, 2026 11:47am

Stocks

China and Hong Kong shares weaken as stable growth eases stimulus bets

China's blue-chip CSI300 Index dropped 0.5% by the lunch break

Published 20 Oct, 2026 11:37am

Forex

Yuan hits fresh high since 2022 on export growth, stronger guidance

The yuan rose to as much as 6.6789 per dollar in morning trades, its strongest level since June 28, 2022

Published 20 Oct, 2026 11:34am

Commodities

Copper flat as China caution outweighs US stockpiling, Goldman upgrade

It expects deficits outside the US of 950,000 tons in 2026 and 220,000 tons in 2027

Published 20 Oct, 2026 11:27am

Mutual Funds

Philippines raises $339mn from T-bond offer

Tenders total 27.58 billion pesos

Published 20 Oct, 2026 11:24am

Forex

Thai baht/US dollar weaker on Tuesday

The baht was 0.19% lower at 33.63 versus the dollar, after trading in a range of 33.570 to 33.650

Published 20 Oct, 2026 11:22am

Stocks

Japan's Nikkei falls as higher yields, inflation fears weigh

The Nikkei fell 0.86% to 64,360.16

Published 20 Oct, 2026 11:20am

Stocks

PSX: selling continues, KSE-100 settles over 800 points lower

The benchmark index settles at 165,151.64

Updated 20 Oct, 2026 06:53pm

Business & Finance

Pakistan, US make progress on trade deal, but technical issues remain

Pakistan highlighted the need to expedite the visit of relevant US inspection teams for mango export arrangements

Updated 20 Oct, 2026 04:19pm

Markets

IMF calls for Pakistan to rationalise tax concessions, bring under-taxed sectors into net

Pakistan has made “important progress” towards restoring microeconomic stability, says Jihad Azour, Director, IMF Middle East and Central Asia Department

Updated 20 Oct, 2026 05:45pm

Industry

German envoy for stronger economic ties with Pakistan

FAISALABAD: The German Ambassador to Pakistan Ina Lepel has called for stronger economic engagement between Pakistan...

Published 20 Oct, 2026 07:44am

Industry

LCCI assures PRA of support in expanding the tax net

LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has assured the Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) of its...

Published 20 Oct, 2026 07:43am

Commodities

China's September US soybean imports rebound from zero a year earlier, data shows

Imports from Brazil fell 2.4% year-on-year to 10.7 million tons from 10.96 million tons in September last year

Published 20 Oct, 2026 07:41am

Forex

Dollar and euro drift, yen slips as markets seek direction

The euro was steady at $1.1216, while the British pound rose 0.1% to $1.3308

Published 20 Oct, 2026 07:38am

Stocks

Asian shares tumble, oil rises as markets await AI sector results

The MSCI Asia ex-Japan index fell 0.93%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 1.28%

Published 20 Oct, 2026 07:34am

Bullion Rate

Gold slips as investors weigh Fed rate outlook

Spot gold fell 0.3% to $4,126.84 per ounce

Published 20 Oct, 2026 07:29am

Energy

Brent slips in choppy session as investors weigh attacks on ships, Saudi energy

Brent crude futures fell 67 cents or 0.61% to $108.88

Updated 20 Oct, 2026 08:57pm

Business & Finance

Industrial growth: Pakistan, UNIDO agree to explore new avenues

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) have agreed to explore new...

Published 20 Oct, 2026 07:02am

Pakistan

Forced loadshedding: ‘New grid stations, additional power transformers needed in Hyderabad’

HYDERABAD: According to the HESCO spokesperson, Member of the National Assembly and Member of the Standing Committee...

Published 20 Oct, 2026 06:59am

Companies

Production suspended: Ghani Chem says inventory available for sales

KARACHI: Ghani Chem World Limited has clarified that it holds sufficient inventory to meet domestic sales...

Published 20 Oct, 2026 06:56am

Business & Finance

First Africa Diplomatic Economic Conference today

KARACHI: The first Africa Diplomatic Economic Conference will be held on Tuesday to promote trade relations between...

Published 20 Oct, 2026 06:55am

Business & Finance

Envoy for transformation in Portugal, Pakistan economic ties

KARACHI: Ambassador of the Republic of Portugal to Pakistan, Paulo Domingues, has called for a major transformation...

Published 20 Oct, 2026 06:51am

Business & Finance

Total gas sector’s circular debt hits Rs5.454trn

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Energy (Petroleum Division) Ali Pervaiz Malik said Pakistan’s total gas sector...