PSX edges up amid ME tensions

Benchmark KSE-100 index closed the week 0.22 per cent higher at 170,885 points, according to The Express Tribune. Investors faced pressure from Middle East tensions for most of the period, but hopes of diplomatic talks before the UN General Assembly session lifted sentiment late in the week. Daily moves were uneven, with the index losing 1.49 per cent on Monday before gaining on Tuesday and Friday.

The State Bank's monetary policy committee held the policy rate at 11.5 per cent, with seven of its ten members voting for the decision. It noted that the Middle East conflict pushed already high global commodity prices higher while supply chains stayed disrupted. Externally, the current account deficit narrowed to $98 million in August, and SBP reserves hit a record $21.4 billion after Eurobond receipts.

Brent crude peaked at $109 per barrel before easing to around $103 during the week, according to JS Global's Wadee Zaman, while petrol rose Rs19.99 to Rs390.79 per litre and high-speed diesel climbed Rs26.88 to Rs424.92 per litre. In the auto segment, August sales of cars, LCVs, vans and jeeps rose 11 per cent year on year to 15.6k units, though Sazgar Engineering did not report its August figures.