Business
Pakistan’s stock market needs depth, not drama | The Express Tribune
With most gains driven by financials and energy giants, PSX lacks broad participation needed for durable bull run
KARACHI:
Pakistan’s stock market has been a study in contrasts this year: pockets of bullish enthusiasm punctuated by sharp swings that leave investors – and policymakers – uneasy. The benchmark KSE-100 index, which began 2025 on a recovery path after a turbulent 2024, has repeatedly tested new highs and then surrendered large chunks of gains within days, illustrating how sensitive the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has become to domestic policy cues, regional geopolitics, and global risk sentiment.
On October 24, 2025, the index traded around the mid-160,000s intraday, showing ranges that investors described as “wide” and “whippy” rather than steady appreciation. Volatility has not been purely technical; it has often been triggered by identifiable events.
In April 2025, trading was halted for 45 minutes after the KSE-100 plunged more than 5% in a single session as global risk aversion spiked and regional uncertainty rose – an episode that underscored how quickly sentiment can reverse even when fundamentals appear to be stabilising.
The market’s dependence on foreign portfolio flows, and its limited depth compared with larger emerging markets, means that short, concentrated flows can move prices dramatically.
Domestic macro policy has been another major driver of market moves. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)’s easing cycle through the first half of 2025, including rate cuts totalling several hundred basis points compared with 2024 peaks, supported a recovery in interest-sensitive sectors and encouraged risk appetite among local institutional investors.
But monetary easing also raised questions about inflation and currency stability, which, in turn, prompted profit-taking when headlines suggested rising external pressures or potential reversals in policy. That tug-of-war between easing for growth and guarding against macro risks has been priced into PSX volatility.
The market’s advances have been concentrated. Financials, selected energy names, and large exporters accounted for a disproportionate share of gains during rallies, while small-cap and mid-cap segments frequently lagged or underperformed during corrections. This concentration increases systemic volatility because heavy exposure to a few big names magnifies the effect of any negative news tied to those companies or sectors.
Even on days when the headline index gains, breadth often remains narrow – another red flag for investors seeking durable rallies. PSX market summaries and turnover statistics show recurrent patterns of heavy volume on a limited number of symbols.
Foreign investor behaviour has been decisive at turning points. Inflows associated with short-term hedge funds or opportunistic foreign portfolio investors have magnified rallies, but sudden stops or reversals – prompted by global events such as changes in US interest rate expectations or geopolitical flare-ups – have intensified declines.
Local institutional participation has grown but still struggles to fully offset the volatility imparted by cross-border capital. The exchange’s 2025 annual report and market data highlight both increasing market capitalisation and the still-fragile composition of flows.
Liquidity dynamics add another layer to the story. While market capitalisation has expanded in the past year, turnover ratios and average daily traded value show episodes of thin liquidity, especially outside the top 20 stocks.
Thin trading amplifies price moves: modest sell orders can cascade if buyers are scarce. Recent intraday ranges – sometimes exceeding several thousand index points – reflect that liquidity mismatch. For risk managers and retail investors, that means stop-losses and margin calls can be triggered more easily now than in a deep, liquid market.
Geopolitical shocks have repeatedly convulsed the PSX. In months when regional tensions flared, the index suffered steep sell-offs and occasionally triggered cooling mechanisms or temporary halts; conversely, diplomatic breakthroughs or easing of tensions sparked quick recoveries and short squeezes.
The market’s sensitivity to such events is understandable – exporters, commodity prices, and investor confidence all react to geopolitical shifts – and it has made calendar risk a permanent feature of the PSX investment playbook.
Macro data and external account developments feed into market psychology as well. Pakistan’s trade deficits, remittance trends, and foreign exchange reserves are monitored closely by investors, and any sign of deteriorating external buffers tends to coincide with domestic equity sell-offs.
While policy actions – tariff adjustments, fiscal consolidation measures, or SBP interventions – may eventually stabilise macro variables, the market often reacts to the perceived probability and timing of those measures long before their economic impact is visible. Official monthly KSE indicators compiled by the SBP and PSX show how closely market moves track macro announcements.
Investor composition has evolved. Retail participation has risen alongside digital access to trading, while institutional investors – including pension funds and mutual funds – have steadily increased their presence. This democratisation brings both benefits – a broader investor base and deeper domestic pools of capital – and risks, as less-experienced retail investors can exacerbate momentum trading during both rallies and panics.
Education, stricter disclosure standards, and improved investor protection are therefore essential complements to any structural reform aimed at calming volatility.
Regulatory responses so far have been pragmatic but reactive. The PSX and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) have used circuit breakers, trading halts, and disclosure requirements to limit disorderly moves, but long-term solutions require deeper structural changes.
These include broadening the investor base through institutional development, improving corporate governance, enhancing market infrastructure to reduce settlement and operational risk, and encouraging product innovation – such as derivatives and options – that allow for hedging of market and currency risk.
PSX’s 2025 initiatives around new index products and market data aim in that direction, but their stabilising impact will accrue only over time.
Volatility on the PSX is likely to persist – at least in the near term – because the market sits at the intersection of domestic policy shifts, lingering external vulnerabilities, and an increasingly connected global capital market where sentiment moves fast. That does not mean the PSX cannot offer attractive returns. Rather, it implies that returns will be accompanied by higher realised volatility, and that success will depend on both macro stability and deepening of market structures.
Policymakers, regulators, and market participants all have a role to play: improving transparency, nurturing local institutional capacity, and upgrading infrastructure will be the difference between a market that remains chronically volatile and one that evolves into a resilient and investor-friendly marketplace.
THE WRITER IS A MEMBER OF PEC AND HOLDS A MASTER’S DEGREE IN ENGINEERING
Business
Apollo Techno Industries IPO Last Day: Issue Receives 50.63x Subscription; GMP Rises To 9.23%
Last Updated:
Unlisted shares of Apollo Techno Industries are trading at Rs 136 apiece in the grey market, which is 4.6% premium over the issue price of Rs 130, indicating weak listing.
Apollo Techno Industries IPO.
Apollo Techno Industries IPO GMP: The initial public offering (IPO) of Apollo Techno Industries Ltd (ATIL) has been closed today, Friday, December 26. The price band of the Rs 47.96-crore IPO has been fixed in the range of Rs 123 and Rs 130. On the final day of bidding on Friday, the IPO received a total of 50.63x times subscription, garnering bids for 12,42,53,000 shares as against 24,54,000 shares on offer.
Its retail category got a 44.81x subscription, while its non-institutional investor (NII) quota got a 98x subscription. Its qualified institutional buyer (QIB) category has received a 25.26x subscription.
ATIL is a manufacturer specialising in trenchless technology and foundation equipment for the construction industry
Apollo Techno Industries IPO GMP Today
According to market observers, unlisted shares of Apollo Techno Industries Ltd are currently trading at Rs 142 apiece in the grey market, which is a 9.23 per cent premium over the issue price of Rs 130. It indicates a weak listing. Its listing will take place on December 31, Wednesday.
The GMP had stood at 4.62 per cent in the morning.
The GMP is based on market sentiments and keeps changing. ‘Grey market premium’ indicates investors’ readiness to pay more than the issue price.
Apollo Techno Industries IPO: More Details
The Apollo Techno Industries Limited IPO is a book-built issue worth ₹47.96 crore, comprising only a fresh issue of 0.37 crore equity shares. There is no offer-for-sale component in the issue.
The IPO opened for subscription on December 23, 2025, and will close on December 26, 2025. The basis of allotment is expected to be finalised on December 29, 2025, while the shares are scheduled to list on the BSE SME platform on December 31, 2025, subject to approvals.
The price band for the issue has been fixed at Rs 123 to Rs 130 per share. The lot size is 1,000 shares. Retail investors are required to apply for a minimum of 2 lots (2,000 shares), translating into an investment of Rs 2.60 lakh at the upper end of the price band. For HNIs, the minimum application size is 3 lots (3,000 shares), amounting to Rs 3.90 lakh.
Beeline Capital Advisors Pvt Ltd is the book running lead manager to the issue, while MUFG Intime India Pvt Ltd is acting as the registrar. The market-making duties will be handled by Spread X Securities Pvt Ltd.
Apollo Techno Industries reported strong financial growth in FY25. The company’s revenue rose 44 percent, while profit after tax (PAT) surged 327 percent for the year ended March 31, 2025, compared with the previous financial year.
Incorporated in 2016, Apollo Techno Industries operates in the manufacturing and technology space, with a focus on equipment used in the construction and infrastructure sector.
The company specialises in trenchless technology and foundation equipment, catering to complex construction requirements. Its product portfolio includes Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) rigs, Diaphragm Drilling Rigs, Rotary Drilling Rigs, along with associated spare parts.
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December 26, 2025, 10:51 IST
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Business
New BIS standard for incense sticks: Govt bans certain substances; flags ‘potential impact on human health’ – The Times of India
NEW DELHI: The government issued a notification announcing a new Indian Standard for incense sticks (agarbatti), laying down quality norms and specifying a list of substances prohibited for use in their manufacture.The standard has been developed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to ensure safer products and promote responsible and sustainable practices in the incense stick industry, the minister for consumer affairs said in a statement released on National Consumer Day 2025.The ministry released a list of harmful substances. “This includes certain insecticidal chemicals such as alethrin, permethrin, cypermethrin, deltamethrin, and fipronil, as well as synthetic fragrance intermediates like benzyl cyanide, ethyl acrylate, and diphenylamine. Many of these substances are restricted or banned internationally due to their potential impact on human health, indoor air quality, and ecological safety,” it said.According to the notification, the standard classifies agarbattis into machine-made, hand-made, and traditional masala agarbattis, and prescribes norms for raw materials, burning quality, fragrance performance and chemical parameters. This, the ministry said, will ensure safer products and consistent quality for consumers.Agarbattis are deeply embedded in India’s cultural and religious life and are widely used in homes, places of worship, meditation centres.With rising global demand for incense products growing steadily in India and overseas, the international studies and regulatory developments, “particularly in Europe have raised concerns over the use of certain synthetic chemicals in fragranced products, including incense sticks,” the release stated.Some of these substances have been linked to respiratory irritation, allergic reactions, neurological effects and environmental harm when used repeatedly in indoor environments, it added.The standard has been developed by the Fragrance and Flavour Sectional Committee (PCD 18) of BIS after extensive consultations with stakeholders.India is the world’s largest producer and exporter of agarbattis. The industry is estimated at around Rs 8,000 crore annually, with exports worth nearly Rs 1,200 crore to over 150 countries, including the US, Malaysia, Nigeria, Brazil and Mexico.The sector supports a large network of artisans, micro-entrepreneurs and MSMEs, especially in rural and semi-urban areas, and plays a key role in generating employment, particularly for women.The government said the new standard is “expected to enhance consumer confidence, promote ethical and sustainable manufacturing practices, support traditional artisans, and improve access to global markets. The standard reinforces India’s commitment to protecting its cultural heritage while aligning indigenous industries with modern quality and safety expectations. Products complying with this standard can also carry the BIS Standard Mark, helping consumers make informed choices with confidence.“
A US judge has temporarily blocked the detention of British social media campaigner Imran Ahmed, who took legal action against the US government over having his visa removed.
The Center for Countering Digital Hate founder was among five people denied US visas after the Trump administration accused them of seeking to “coerce” tech platforms into censoring free speech.
The move brought a backlash from European leaders defending the work of organisations monitoring online content.
Mr Ahmed, a US permanent resident, had warned that being detained and possibly deported would tear him away from his American wife and child. Praising the judge’s decision, he told BBC News he would not be “bullied”.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said online that the individuals were blocked over concerns that they had organised efforts to pressure US platforms to censor and “punish American viewpoints they oppose“.
Mr Ahmed filed a legal complaint on Wednesday against officials including Rubio and US Attorney General Pamela Bondi over the decision to have him sanctioned.
In court documents seen by the BBC, US District Judge Vernon S Broderick said on Thursday he had granted Mr Ahmed’s request for a temporary restraining order.
The judge also temporarily blocked the officials from detaining Mr Ahmed without the chance for his case to be heard.
The BBC has contacted the state department and White House for comment.
When approached by AFP news agency, a state department spokesperson was quoted as saying: “The Supreme Court and Congress have repeatedly made clear: the United States is under no obligation to allow foreign aliens to come to our country or reside here.”
Mr Ahmed said: “I will not be bullied away from my life’s work of fighting to keep children safe from social media’s harm and stopping antisemitism online.”
His lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, said the speed of the judge’s decision was telling.
“The federal government can’t deport a green card holder like Imran Ahmed, with a wife and young child who are American, simply because it doesn’t like what he has to say,” she said.
In 2023, Mr Ahmed’s centre was sued by Elon Musk’s social media company after it reported on a rise in hate speech on the platform since the billionaire’s takeover of the firm, now called X.
The case was dismissed but an appeal is pending.
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