Business
Stocks tumble over Pak-Afghan standoff | The Express Tribune
Shares of 340 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 93 stocks closed higher, 233 declined and 14 remained unchanged. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) came under selling pressure on Wednesday as investors reacted to renewed tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, coupled with mixed corporate earnings. The benchmark KSE-100 index dropped 1,635.97 points, or 1.02%, to close at 158,465.06.
The index fluctuated between the high of 160,690 and low of 158,307. Investor sentiment remained weak after peace talks between Islamabad and Kabul failed to yield progress. Analysts believe that the market correction phase is likely to continue in the near term as traders remain cautious amid uncertain political and economic conditions.
KTrade Securities noted that the PSX continued to face selling pressure as the absence of positive catalysts further dampened investor confidence. The KSE-100 index dropped 1,636 points, settling at 158,465. It attributed the decline to multiple factors, including the breakdown of negotiations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which hurt sentiment, as well as margin calls and institutional selling that intensified market volatility.
Notable selling was witnessed in stocks such as Lucky Cement, United Bank, Mari Energies, MCB Bank, Engro Fertilisers and Bank AL Habib. Conversely, National Bank provided some support after announcing strong quarterly results.
Looking ahead, investor sentiment is expected to remain cautious during the rollover week, as traders adjust their futures positions. Additionally, the corporate earnings season will continue to play a key role in shaping short-term market direction, KTrade added.
Arif Habib Limited (AHL) commented that October lows for the index, around 158,000, “are now under threat and likely to be tested in the upcoming sessions”. Some 19 stocks advanced while 78 declined, with National Bank (+2.31%), Thal Limited (+5.99%) and Bank Alfalah (+0.85%) contributing the most to index gains. Lucky Cement (-2.29%), UBL (-1.26%) and Mari Energies (-2.04%) were the biggest index drags.
AHL mentioned that NBP reported 9MCY25 earnings per share (EPS) of Rs30.88, marking a 16-fold year-on-year (YoY) increase. Pakistan Petroleum announced 1QFY26 EPS of Rs7.38, down 15% YoY, along with a dividend of Rs2 per share, while Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDCL) reported 1QFY26 EPS of Rs8.91, down 7% YoY, accompanied by a Rs3.5-per-share dividend. AHL added that a recovery may emerge after six consecutive sessions of decline that dragged the KSE-100 down by 6%.
Topline Securities observed that Wednesday’s trend mirrored the previous session, with the KSE-100 initially opening on a positive note and gaining 589 points. However, selling pressure soon intensified, pulling the index down by 1,635 points.
The market continued its corrective phase as investors reacted to mixed corporate results, where some firms posted robust earnings while others missed expectations. Margin calls on leveraged positions further accelerated the decline, while volatility remained high due to the ongoing futures rollover week, it said. Overall trading volume decreased to 951.8 million shares compared with Tuesday’s tally of 1.02 billion shares. Traded value stood at Rs41.3 billion.
Shares of 478 companies were traded, of which 123 closed higher, 314 declined and 41 remained unchanged.
K-Electric led the volume chart with 93 million shares, rising Rs0.17 to close at Rs5.44. It was followed by Hascol Petroleum with 54 million shares, gaining Rs0.25 to close at Rs15.54 and WorldCall Telecom with 51 million shares, edging up Rs0.01 to close at Rs1.80. Foreign investors were net buyers of shares worth Rs657.7 million, according to the NCCPL.
New Delhi: The prices of major imported agricultural goods in South Korea have risen sharply in recent years, outpacing global price increases due to the weakening of the South Korean won against the US dollar, data showed on Sunday.
According to the Bank of Korea, the import price index for coffee came to 307.12 in November in U.S. dollar terms and 379.71 in Korean won terms, with 2020 set as the base year at 100, reports Yonhap news agency.
The figures indicate that global coffee prices have risen about threefold over the past five years but increased nearly fourfold when converted into the Korean won. The data showed that the price of imported beef increased 30 percent over the period in U.S. dollar terms but surged 60.6 percent in Korean won terms.
Over the same period, the price of imported pork rose 5.5 percent in U.S. dollar terms but jumped 30.5 percent in Korean won terms. The Korean won traded at around the 1,100-won level in 2021 before weakening into the upper 1,200-won range in 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the average exchange rate stood at 1,450 won per dollar.
The price of imported fresh seafood fell 11 percent in terms of U.S. dollars but rose 10 percent in Korean won, reflecting the impact of currency depreciation, the data also showed. South Korea imports a lot of raw materials, such as sugar and flour, said Choi Chul, a professor of consumer economics at Sookmyung Women’s University.
As the price of domestically produced (agricultural products) are rising due to climate change, a hike in imported goods due to the foreign exchange rate will push up overall food prices, including processed products, Chul added.
Business
Elon Musk Hits $700 Billion Net Worth, Surpasses Combined Wealth Of Next Three Richest People
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Musk becomes the first person to surpass $700 billion net worth after a US court reinstates his Tesla compensation package, placing him far ahead of Larry Page and Larry Ellison.
Elon Musk’s wealth crosses $700 billion. (Photo Credit: X)
Elon Musk Net Worth: Tech billionaire Elon Musk continues to accumulate record-breaking wealth unabated and has created history by becoming the first individual ever to cross a net worth of $700 billion. His wealth surged after a US court reinstated his long-pending compensation package linked to electric-vehicle maker Tesla, according to Reuters. Following the ruling, Musk’s estimated net worth jumped to about $749 billion, firmly placing him at the top of the global rich list.
The scale of Musk’s lead over other billionaires is unprecedented. The second-richest person in the world, Larry Page, has a net worth of around $252.6 billion, while third-ranked Larry Ellison is worth about $242.7 billion. This means Musk is richer by nearly $500 billion than the person just below him. In simple terms, Musk’s net worth is equal to the combined net worth of the next three richest people in the list – Larry Page, co-founder of Google, Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, and Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.
Why Is Musk Wealth Rising?
This extraordinary jump in wealth came after the Delaware Supreme Court restored stock options from Musk’s 2018 pay package that had earlier been cancelled by a lower court. Those options are now valued at roughly $139 billion, far higher than the original estimate of $56 billion when the deal was first approved. The court said the earlier ruling that scrapped the package was unfair and wrong, reversing a 2024 judgment that had described the deal as “unfathomable”.
Musk’s wealth rose so sharply mainly because his compensation is almost entirely linked to company performance rather than salary. As Tesla’s market value expanded dramatically over the years, the value of Musk’s stock options multiplied. Once the court restored these options, the impact on his net worth was immediate and massive. Unlike many other billionaires, Musk’s fortune is heavily concentrated in shares, which makes it more volatile but also capable of extreme upside.
Musk’s Mega Empire
Earlier, Musk’s wealth hit $600 billion mark after the rocket company he founded launched a tender offer valuing the firm at $800 billion, up from $400 billion in August, according to two of the company’s investors speaking to Forbes. With Musk owning roughly 42% of SpaceX, this valuation boost increased his fortune by $168 billion.
The dramatic jump in Musk’s net worth is largely tied to SpaceX’s latest valuation. The company is targeting an initial public offering in 2026 that could see it valued at around $1.5 trillion, one investor told Forbes. Even without an IPO at that scale, Musk’s estimated $336 billion stake in SpaceX now ranks as his most valuable asset.
Musk also holds a 53% stake in xAI Holdings, valued at an estimated $60 billion by Forbes. The company is reportedly in discussions to raise funds at a $230 billion valuation, more than double the $113 billion valuation Musk assigned when he merged his AI startup xAI with X in March.
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December 21, 2025, 09:19 IST
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Fiona Irving,South East environment correspondentand
Craig Buchan,South East
BBCThe boss of South East Water has said the company is too dependant on individual facilities after a six-day supply failure affected thousands of people in Kent.
About 24,000 properties in and around Tunbridge Wells had no or low pressure tap water from 29 November until supplies returned to most on 4 December. For the next nine days, residents were told to boil the restored tap water before consumption.
A disinfection problem at Pembury Water Treatment Works had caused the failure but there was no evidence supply became infected, said South East Water.
The water company’s chief executive, David Hinton, said the firm was “just too reliant in some areas on one asset”.
Mr Hinton was speaking to the BBC earlier in the week and said the company wants to “do more” at a separate works at Bewl Water reservoir, near Wadhurst in East Sussex, and spend £30m on expanding output capacity.
The proposal would give the company the ability to “rapidly fill the area of Tunbridge Wells, for example, as soon as we see any issue”, said Mr Hinton.
He said this would allow “extra resilience should any other challenges hit any other treatment works” without further draining the reservoir.
“It’s not only for Tunbridge Wells, it’s for the wider parts of Kent as well,” added the chief executive, who has faced calls to resign over the supply issues.
South East Water was one of five companies to contest regulator Ofwat’s latest price controls, which already allowed it to increase an average annual bill from £232 to £274 by 2030.
The firms argued the 36% average price increase for customers in England over the next five years was not enough to deliver better infrastructure.
The Competition and Markets Authority has provisionally agreed that South East Water can increase bills by an extra 4%, pending a final decision in 2026.
Mr Hinton said the Bewl Water proposal was a reason why the company was asking the competition regulator to allow it to raise more money from customers.
South East Water suspects “something to do with the level” of water at its Pembury reservoir contributed to the supply failure but the firm wants to “do a full investigation”, he said.
The company introduced hosepipe restrictions in July for Kent and Sussex customers after dry weather earlier in 2025.
The Drinking Water Inspectorate said it was investigating the Tunbridge Wells loss of supply incident.
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