Business
PSX loses momentum as investors book profits after record-breaking rally – SUCH TV

The equity market opened lower on Monday as investors booked profits following the index’s record-breaking rally, amid lingering concerns over fiscal slippages and widening external imbalances.
During intraday trading, the benchmark KSE-100 Index reached a high of 169,326.35 points, gaining 336.28 points (0.2%), before dropping to a low of 165,997.36 points, reflecting a decline of 2,992.71 points (-1.77%) from Friday’s close of 168,990.07 points.
“The market, after an extraordinary rally, is now facing selling pressure and resistance levels,” said Ahfaz Mustafa, CEO of Ismail Iqbal Securities.
He added, “Key factors prompting investors to take profits include the recent shortfall in FBR collections, a rising trade deficit, and, to a lesser extent, growing inflation.
So far, the government has not implemented any concrete policy measures to address these challenges.
Coupled with excessive leverage and high borrowing costs, this has encouraged investors to lock in gains.”
According to the latest data, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) collected Rs2.88 trillion in the first quarter of FY26, falling short of its Rs3.083 trillion target by Rs198 billion.
In September alone, collections reached Rs1.23 trillion, missing the monthly target by Rs138 billion.
Despite a 13% year-on-year rise, the pace remains insufficient to meet annual revenue goals, and the shortfall even missed the IMF’s conservative target of Rs3.023 trillion.
Meanwhile, the trade deficit widened nearly 46% year-on-year in September 2025 to $3.34 billion, as imports jumped 14% to $5.85 billion and exports fell 11.7% to $2.5 billion, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
For the July–September quarter, the trade gap grew 32.9% to $9.37 billion, driven by rising imports and declining exports.
Economists warned that the trend could pressure the rupee and foreign reserves, complicating debt repayments amid Pakistan’s dependence on external financing.
PBS data also showed the services trade deficit expanding 21.9% year-on-year in August to $437 million, with imports up 13.4% to $1.11 billion, outpacing the 8.4% growth in exports.
Weekly inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), rose 0.56% during the week ended October 2, reflecting renewed price pressures after months of relative stability.
On Friday, the KSE-100 Index had gained 500.44 points, or 0.3%, to close at 168,990.07 points from 168,489.63 points.
The highest index of the day remained at 169,988.62 points, while the lowest level was recorded at 168,613.41 points.
Business
Top 10 Richest Indian Professional Managers In 2025

Jayshree Ullal, CEO of Arista Networks, tops the list of richest Indian managers with a net worth of Rs 50,170 crore. (File Photo)

Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, ranks second among Indian professional managers with a personal wealth of Rs 9,770 crore. (File Photo)

Nikesh Arora, the CEO of Palo Alto Networks, takes third place with a net worth of Rs 9,190 crore. (File Photo)

Ignatius Navil Noronha, CEO of DMart, is the richest India-based manager on the list, with a fortune of Rs 6,570 crore from the retail giant. (File Photo)

Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank and former Mastercard CEO, holds the fifth spot with a total wealth estimated at Rs 5,970 crore. (File Photo)

Thomas Kurian, who leads Google Cloud, ranks sixth on the list with Rs 5,900 crore. (File Photo)

Google CEO Sundar Pichai is seventh with a net worth of Rs 5,810 crore. (File Photo)

Former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi comes in eighth with Rs 5,130 crore. (File Photo)

Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen is ninth with Rs 4,670 crore net worth. (File Photo)

Ajit Jain, Vice Chairman at Berkshire Hathaway, maintains his position in the list with a net worth of Rs 2,950 crore. (File Photo)
Business
Aston Martin in profit warning amid US tariff woes


Aston Martin Lagonda has warned of further losses as it faces US tariffs, and also raised fears over supply chain pressures from Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber-attack fallout.
The Warwickshire luxury carmaker said it was now braced for underlying losses greater than £110m, which was the bottom of the previous expected range.
The announcement marks the second downgrade to its outlook since early July.
Aston Martin bosses said they had launched an “immediate” review of costs and spending in light of tougher trading.
It sent shares tumbling by as much as 11% at one point during trading on Monday.
The firm said wholesale volumes were set to drop by a mid-high single-digit percentage due to “heightened challenges in the global macroeconomic environment, including the ongoing impact of tariffs” – with a weaker performance being seen across North America and Asia.

In a statement on Monday, the firm said: “The global macroeconomic environment facing the industry remains challenging.
“This includes uncertainties over the economic impact from US tariffs and the implementation of the quota mechanism, changes to China’s ultra-luxury car taxes and the increased potential for supply chain pressures, particularly following the recent cyber incident at a major UK automotive manufacturer.”
Tariff quotas
The group has seen shares come under pressure this year over concerns about the impact of Donald Trump’s tariff war.
The firm limited shipments to the US in the second quarter after the president imposed a 25% tariff on car imports in April.
It then resumed shipments in June as the UK reached an agreement with the US for a lower 10% tariff on UK-made cars for the first 100,000 vehicles per manufacturer.
Anything above that threshold will be hit with a 27.5% duty.
But Aston Martin said the tariffs were still having an impact on performance.
It said: “For UK automotive manufacturers, the introduction of a US tariff quota mechanism adds a further degree of complexity and limits the group’s ability to accurately forecast for this financial year end and, potentially, quarterly from 2026 onwards.
“The group continues to engage with both the US and UK governments to secure greater clarity and certainty.”
Aston Martin said while “positive dialogue” had been achieved with the US government directly, the firm was still seeking proactive support from the UK.
It hopes that profitability and free cash flow will “materially” improve in 2025-26 as it cuts costs and ramps up delayed production of its Valhalla model – the group’s first plug-in hybrid mid-engine supercar.
In February, before tariffs were announced, Aston Martin cut 170 jobs after seeing losses widen by a fifth last year and debts pile up.
Its results for the first half of 2025 showed core profitability (EBIT) slumped to £121m, compared with £99.8m in the same period of 2024.
Business
House-buying reform plan aims to cut costs and time

Charlotte EdwardsBusiness reporter, BBC News

Plans for a major reform of the house-buying system, which aim to cut costs, reduce delays and halve failed sales, have been unveiled by the government.
Under the new proposals, sellers and estate agents will be legally required to provide key information about a property up front, and the option of binding contracts could stop either party walking away late in the process.
The government estimates the overhaul could save first-time buyers an average of £710 and shave four weeks off the time it takes to complete a typical property deal.
But sellers at the end of a chain may face increased initial costs of £310 and, while broadly welcoming the move, housing experts say more detail is needed.
Previous attempts at mandating sellers to offer key information – through home information packs – were scrapped owing to complaints that it discouraged or delayed sellers in putting homes on the market.
The broader issue of housing affordability remains a block for many potential property purchasers, especially first-time buyers.
And many home buyers would not benefit from the estimated savings, as the calculations include the average cost of failed transactions that some might not experience.
Collapsing chains
There has long been frustration in England and Wales over the length and jeopardy of the house-buying process for buyers and sellers, such as slow paperwork, ‘gazumping’ — when successful buyers are outbid at the last minute — and broken chains.
Typically in England it takes about six months.
The 12-week consultation on these plans draws on other jurisdictions, including the Scottish system where there is more upfront information and earlier binding contracts making the process quicker.
This will include being up front about the condition of the home, any leasehold costs, and details of property chains.
The government says this transparency will reduce the risk of deals collapsing late in the process and improve confidence among buyers, particularly those purchasing a home for the first time.
It says those in the middle of a chain could also potentially gain a net saving of £400 as a result of the increased costs from selling being outweighed by lower buying expenses, as well as more competition in the sector.
Housing minister Miatta Fahnbulleh told BBC Breakfast the plans to get sellers to arrange the house survey means buyers would get all the information “upfront”.
“You know what you’re getting, you don’t have this thing that every time, for example, there is a new buyer because the transaction failed and you need to do another survey,” she said.
“In Scotland, where they do this, you see that it drives down the number of failed transactions.”
Housing is a devolved issue but the department said it wanted views from across the UK, and the coverage of the proposals would depend on how the measures were finalised.
Contracts and fines
The proposals suggest a “long-term” option of binding contracts is intended to halve the number of failed transactions, which currently cost the UK economy an estimated £1.5bn a year.
Anyone who breaks the contract could face fines, but no firm details are yet provided on how this would work, and what would be considered as justified reasons to leave the contract.
Surveys suggest about a third of buyers had experienced gazumping in the last 10 years.
The reforms also aim to boost professional standards across the housing sector.
A new mandatory Code of Practice for estate agents and conveyancers is being proposed, along with the introduction of side-by-side performance data to help buyers choose trusted professionals based on expertise and track record.
The government said further details the changes would be published in the new year, forming part of its broader housing strategy, which includes a pledge to build 1.5 million new homes.
Conservative shadow housing minister Paul Holmes said: “Whilst we welcome steps to digitise and speed up the process, this risks reinventing the last Labour government’s failed Home Information Packs – which reduced the number of homes put on sale, and duplicated costs across buyers and sellers.”
Housing expert Kirstie Allsopp, the presenter of Channel 4’s Location, Location, Location, told the BBC’s Today programme she was “really glad the government has grasped this nettle”.
She said it was important to focus on both the buying and selling sides, “because things fall through because buyers walk away just as much as sellers walk away, and I think that was a worrying element”.
But Babek Ismayil, chief executive of homebuying platform OneDome, said genuine integration of the process rather than more paperwork at the start was required.
“There’s a risk of unintended consequences: requiring sellers and agents to gather more upfront information could delay properties coming onto the market,” he said.
“In a market where boosting supply is critical, any added friction must be carefully managed to avoid slowing things down.”
The announcement comes as the Conservatives propose changes to its tax policy for first home buyers at the party’s conference in Manchester.
The party plans to “reward work” by giving young people a £5,000 tax rebate towards their first home when they get their first full time job, if the return to government.
Shadow chancellor Mel Stride announced proposals for a “first-job bonus” that would divert National Insurance payments into a long-term savings account.
The party say it will be funded by cuts to public spending worth £47bn over five years in areas such as welfare, the civil service and the foreign aid budget.

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