The Pakistan Stock Exchange opened strong on Thursday. The benchmark KSE 100 Index jumped more than 1,000 points as trading resumed after Wednesday’s holiday for Eid Milad-un-Nabi.
The index had closed Tuesday at 177,370.70 points, up 404.02 points, or 0.23 percent. Banks and cement stocks led that gain, even as some investors sold off energy shares to lock in profits. Thursday picked up right where Tuesday left off, and the rally has held through the morning session.
Current standing
According to the official PSX market data portal, the index was trading at 178,436.73 points as the market remained open. That is a gain of 1,066.03 points, or 0.6 percent, over the previous close of 177,370.70.
The session’s day high so far stands at 178,650.01 points, while the day low sits at 178,010.21 points. That is a range of about 640 points, which is fairly tight for a session that opened with this much buying pressure, and it tells you the gains have been holding rather than swinging wildly in both directions. Traded volume stood at roughly 99.4 million shares, with a traded value of about Rs 11.3 billion.
What’s driving the rally
Investors bought across several sectors: automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies, power generation, and refineries. Big names like HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, HBL, MCB, MEBL, and UBL all traded higher. These are heavyweight stocks, so when they rise, they pull the whole index up with them.
The mood across the region helped too. Asian markets opened higher on Thursday after Nvidia’s latest earnings beat expectations. The chipmaker also forecast stronger revenue ahead, and that lifted tech hardware stocks and boosted investor confidence, even though fresh data showed US inflation is still running hot.
This update shows live trading data from the official PSX market data portal as of the time of writing, with the market still open. Final closing figures may differ.
Read next: PSX recovers from early slump but remains under pressure