A delegation of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), led by Director General Leah Gutierrez, on Friday called on Federal Minister for Railways Muhammad Hanif Abbasi to review progress on the upgradation of Main Line-I (ML-I), Pakistan Railways’ most critical infrastructure project.

During the meeting, detailed discussions were held on the scope, financing and implementation strategy of the ML-I upgradation, according to a news release.

Officials briefed the meeting that ML-I serves as the backbone of Pakistan Railways, facilitating nearly 80% of passenger traffic and around 90% of freight movement across the country.

In view of the current condition of railway infrastructure, participants underscored the urgent need to upgrade ML-I to ensure safe, efficient and reliable rail operations.

The project is expected to significantly enhance connectivity, reduce travel time and strengthen Pakistan’s logistics and trade capacity.

Hanif Abbasi described ML-I as a key project for the national economy, saying its modernisation would play a vital role in promoting economic growth, improving regional connectivity and ensuring sustainable transport.

The ADB delegation reaffirmed its continued cooperation and confidence in the progress of the ML-I project and expressed its commitment to supporting Pakistan Railways in its reform and modernisation efforts.

Both sides also agreed that the ground-breaking ceremony of the ML-I Karachi-to-Rohri section would be held in July 2026, marking a major milestone in the execution of the project.

Stock prices in London closed mostly higher on Friday, in light of lower-than-expected US inflation the day before.

The US consumer price index rose by 2.7% in November from a year before, slowing from 3.0% annual inflation in September. Market consensus cited by FXStreet had expected inflation to increase to 3.1% in November.

“The knife-edge nature of yesterday’s rate decision by the Bank of England is keeping UK stocks in check and stalled the FTSE 100’s push towards the 10,000 mark,” said AJ Bell’s Danni Hewson. “Investors have responded to the reality that we could be approaching the end of the current rate-cutting cycle.”

She continued: “Across the Atlantic, the sharply lower-than-anticipated CPI reading in the US suggests the Federal Reserve might have more scope for rate cuts next year.”

The FTSE 100 index closed up 59.65 points, 0.6%, at 9,897.42. The FTSE 250 ended down 12.88 points, 0.1%, at 22,312.71, and the AIM All-Share closed up 1.03 points, 0.1%, at 757.39.

On the FTSE 100, Anglo American edged up 0.4% after reporting that it was striving to wrap up the sale of its nickel business and that it had restarted efforts to dispose of its remaining coal operation.

The London-based diversified miner previously suffered a setback, after Peabody Energy abruptly ended its bid to acquire Anglo American’s steelmaking coal assets in Australia.

Anglo American said on Friday it has reinitiated a formal process to sell the remaining steelmaking coal business.

The miner also said it is working to finalise the last regulatory approval with the European Commission required to complete the transaction, first announced in February this year.

Carnival, on the FTSE 250, jumped 17%.

The Florida-based cruise operator’s pre-tax profit jumped 45% to a “record” 2.77 billion dollars in the financial year ended November 30, from 1.92 billion dollars a year ago. Revenue climbed 6.4% to 26.62 billion dollars, also a record, from 25.02 billion dollars, with passenger ticket revenue growing 5.8% to 17.42 billion dollars.

Carnival also announced the reinstatement of dividends, declaring a quarterly payout of 15 US cents.

For the full year 2026, the company expects adjusted net income to grow by 12%.

In small caps, Seraphim Space rose 8.8%.

The space technology-focused investor’s largest holding, ICEYE, has won a 1.7 billion euro deal through a joint venture with arms firm Rheinmetall AG. The JV will provide the German armed forces with radar services.

On AIM, Revel Collective plunged 74%.

The bar and pub company said that “a number of credible parties” were in talks with the firm to potentially acquire the businesses it operates, but it warned that any deal is unlikely to return any value to shareholders.

Caledonia Mining rose 11%.

The Zimbabwe-focused gold miner has “welcomed” revised provisions announced by the Zimbabwean government on the gold mining sector.

A proposal to up a royalty rate to 10% from 5% will now only apply if the bullion price tops 5,000 dollars an ounce, and not 2,500 dollars. Also, a proposed tax change on capital expenditure treatment has been withdrawn.

Caledonia said that so long as the gold price remains below 5,000, dollars there will be no change to its financial outlook.

In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed up 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended up 0.3%.

The pound was quoted at 1.3373 dollars at the time of the London equities close on Friday, lower compared with 1.3387 dollars on Thursday. The euro stood at 1.1715 dollars, lower against 1.1730 dollars. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at 157.46 yen compared with 155.46 yen.

Stocks in New York were higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.6%, the S&P 500 index up 0.7%, and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.8%.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.14%, widening from 4.11%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.82%, widening from 4.79%.

Brent oil was quoted at 60.16 dollars a barrel at the time of the London equities close on Friday, down from 60.23 dollars late Thursday.

Gold was quoted lower at 4,348.80 dollars an ounce, against 4,370.61 dollars on Thursday.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Endeavour Mining, up 120.00p at 3,910.00p, Rolls-Royce, up 26.00p at 1,170.00p, DCC, up 103.52p at 5,019.52p, Melrose Industries, up 11.20p at 576.60p, and Spirax, up 120.00p at 6,850.00p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Barratt Redrow, down 10.16p at 368.64p, Persimmon, down 32.00p at 1,317.00p, JD Sports Fashion, down 2.05p at 84.63p, Berkeley Group, down 70.00p at 3,884.00p, and Marks & Spencer, down 5.50p at 326.60p.

On Monday’s economic calendar, the UK releases current account and gross domestic product data.

On Monday’s UK corporate calendar, no significant events are scheduled.

– Contributed by Alliance News