Business
PSX surges over 5,700 points on banking, fertiliser rally | The Express Tribune
Overall market participation was strong, as 1,066 million shares were traded with a total value of Rs. 49 billion. KEL led the volume chart, with 195.8 million shares..Photo: Express
KARACHI:
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) delivered a powerful performance on Wednesday, staging a sharp comeback driven by heavy buying in banking and fertiliser stocks amid strong corporate earnings.
The benchmark KSE-100 index surged 5,702.68 points, a gain of 3.29 per cent. The index moved within a wide intra-day range, hitting a high of 178,974.17 and a low of 174,328.61, before settling at 178,853.10, reflecting strong volatility but sustained bullish momentum throughout the session.
The rally was largely led by major banking and fertiliser sector stocks, as investors responded positively to encouraging earnings announcements and improving financial fundamentals. Strong institutional participation and renewed investor confidence helped push the market sharply higher after recent sessions of volatility.
Read: PSX extends losses as KSE-100 closes 1,300 points lower
KTrade Securities said in its market wrap that the PSX staged a strong comeback as the KSE-100 index closed at 178,853 points, gaining 5,702 points, or 3.29 per cent. The rebound followed consecutive weak sessions driven by settlement transition concerns, margin pressure, and political noise. With some of these pressures easing, the market saw aggressive covering and renewed buying interest.
The recovery was broad-based, led by banks and fertilisers, while strong corporate earnings further supported sentiment. Habib Bank, notably, announced impressive results along with a Rs6 per share dividend, boosting confidence across the banking sector alongside other major names.
Read More: PSX tumbles over 900 points
Overall sentiment has turned constructive after the sharp pullback. KTrade noted that if stability continues and corporate results remain supportive, the rebound could sustain in the near term. However, sustainability will depend on liquidity flows and clarity on the broader political and macro environment.
According to the PSX report, overall trading volume decreased to 697.6 million compared with Tuesday’s tally of 716 million. The value of traded stocks stood at Rs49.9 billion. Shares of 484 companies were traded. Of these, 334 stocks closed higher, 103 fell, and 47 remained unchanged. K-Electric led the volume chart with trading in 117 million shares, rising Rs0.57 to close at Rs8.39.
In one such case, 29 state attorney generals are pushing a California federal court to demand that the platforms make a number of changes immediately, before any trial, including forcing Meta to remove all accounts known to belong to users under 13 years of age.
Business
India eyes diversification of crude oil sources; Piyush Goyal says would ‘love’ high-quality coking coal from US – The Times of India
India is looking to diversify its sources of crude oil, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has said. Goyal’s comments assume significance in light of the India-US trade deal joint statement which lowers tariffs on Indian exports to 18%. The Donald Trump administration has also removed the 25% penal tariffs on India on the condition that it stops buying crude oil from Russia.India’s crude imports from Russia have dropped since the US imposed sanctions on two major Russian oil firms in late 2025. According to reports, the share of Russian crude in India’s oil imports has dropped to the lowest level since late 2022 and analysts expect the numbers to drop further in the coming months.
India would ‘love’ high-quality coking coal from US
Piyush Goyal said India is looking to broaden its sourcing of crude oil and coking coal and would welcome supplies of premium-quality coking coal from the United States.Also Read | 18% tariffs, boost to exports, agriculture protected: How India benefits from trade deal with US? Explained“We want to diversify our oil sources. I want to diversify the source of coking coal for example. I am dependent on 2 or 3 geographies (for that) and prices keep fluctuating. I would love to have American coking coal which is high quality coming to India,” he said according to a PTI report.He noted that the US is well positioned to supply several products that are critical for India’s economic growth, including graphics processing units used in artificial intelligence, infrastructure and equipment for data centres, and high-performance computing systems.Goyal said India can produce goods in areas where US manufacturers may not be competitive, while America can serve as an important provider of technology and investment capital.Also Read | Trump removes 25% penal tariff: What happens if India stops buying Russian crude oil?He added that demand for aircraft from the US is already estimated at about $100 billion over the next five years, with additional capacity required to expand domestic aviation and help lower fares.Under the proposed interim trade pact with the United States, India has conveyed its intent to procure goods worth $500 billion from America over the next five years. An Indian delegation is scheduled to travel to the US next week to conclude the legal drafting of the agreement, which is expected to be signed in March.Piyush Goyal said entering into a trade agreement with the US would be beneficial for India, noting that it would create significant opportunities for domestic businesses, particularly in labour-intensive sectors and technology-driven services.Referring to India’s free trade agreements, Goyal noted that nine such pacts have been concluded over the past four years. He added that these deals were negotiated from a position of confidence, emphasising that India now engages in trade talks assertively, without defensiveness, and with a focus on long-term interests.
Business
FDA chief Marty Makary says ‘everything should be over the counter’ unless drug is unsafe or addictive
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary told CNBC that he believes “everything should be over the counter” unless a drug is unsafe, addictive or requires monitoring – doubling down on a push that some in the pharmaceutical industry have questioned.
In an interview Wednesday in Washington, D.C., Makary said the FDA aims to make changes this year that allow more companies to offer their prescription medicines over the counter, or OTC. He noted that the agency is going through “the proper regulatory processes” to update OTC monographs – the rulebooks that determine which drugs can be sold without a prescription.
Makary said the FDA is looking at “basic, safe” prescription drugs like nausea medications and vaginal estrogen, which is used to treat menopausal symptoms like dryness and pain.
“In my opinion, everything should be over the counter and not requiring a prescription, unless it’s unsafe, unless you need laboratory tests to monitor how it’s being received by your body, or if it could be used for some nefarious purpose or it’s addictive,” Makary told CNBC after the PhRMA Forum, a one-day event organized by the pharmaceutical industry’s largest lobbying group.
“If it doesn’t meet those criteria, why shouldn’t a drug be over the counter? So we should be asking, why not? Instead of, ‘Oh, you want to move over the counter, you got to go through a long, tedious process,'” he added.
Marty Makary, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to be U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner, testifies before a Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Senate Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 6, 2025.
Kent Nishimura | Reuters
The FDA has long considered making some prescription drugs available OTC to improve accessibility, reduce health-care costs and help patients stay on their medications. For example, patients wouldn’t have to take time off work to see a doctor for a prescription or could refill a drug without delay.
Congress boosted the effort through legislation in November that streamlines the regulatory process for prescription-to-OTC transitions, including full, conditional and partial “switch” pathways.
Makary framed the FDA’s latest push to expand OTC access as another way to lower drug costs, a key priority of the Trump administration. He argued that placing medications directly on store shelves would bypass insurers and pharmacy benefit managers, eliminating the rebate-driven system that often obscures a drug’s true price.
He also said selling drugs over the counter promotes transparency that “keeps prices in check.” In some cases, Makary said cash prices for OTC medicines are lower than patients’ copays for prescription drugs “when there’s a money game going on behind the pharmacy counter,” with employers and insurers sharing the cost.
Pharma questions OTC push
Some in the pharmaceutical industry have pushed back on that argument. Most OTC drugs are not covered by insurance, meaning their prices could eclipse those of generic prescription medicines and potentially make them less affordable for patients who rely on coverage.
In comments to the FDA earlier this month, the Association for Accessible Medicines argued that “the shift of many prescription drugs to nonprescription status could actually increase costs to patients, thereby decreasing patient access to treatments.” That organization represents manufacturers and distributors of generic prescription medicines.
The FDA also doesn’t have the authority to regulate drug prices. In its own comments this month, PhRMA said the agency must respect “the core principle that pricing considerations may not factor into FDA regulatory decision-making.”
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America added that the FDA should not attempt to transition any prescription drugs to OTC without first consulting manufacturers. But the group emphasized that it supports the FDA’s effort to expand access to crucial medicines.
In its own comment this month, AstraZeneca said several previous attempts to transition cholesterol-cutting statins to OTC status have been “unsuccessful, with consumers consistently having difficulty making proper self-selection decisions.”
Meanwhile, Makary told CNBC on Wednesday that “we have to trust people to make their decisions. We’ve got to get away from this paternalistic mindset.”
The FDA removed the longtime director of the office of over-the-counter drugs, Theresa Michele, from her position in December, STAT news reported at the time.
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