The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained firmly in positive territory on Thursday, with strong buying across major sectors pushing the benchmark KSE-100 Index up by more than 3,100 points during the first half of the trading session.
By 12:16pm, the KSE-100 Index had climbed 3,145.95 points, or around 1.8 percent, to 178,431.73. Trading activity also stayed healthy, with more than 138.59 million shares changing hands.
The rally was driven by broad-based buying in automobile assemblers, cement manufacturers, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies, power producers and refineries. Heavyweight stocks such as Attock Refinery, Hub Power, Oil and Gas Development Company, Pakistan Oilfields, Pakistan Petroleum, Pakistan State Oil, Sui Southern Gas Company, MCB Bank, Meezan Bank and United Bank remained among the key contributors to the market’s gains.
Among the most actively traded shares, LOTCHEM, TPL Properties, Cnergyico, Bank of Punjab, WorldCall Telecom and Maple Leaf Cement recorded gains, while Ittefaq Iron Industries was among the few stocks trading lower.
On the broader market, several stocks hit the upper trading limit, including DBCI, Power Cement, Astam, CCM, STML, GOC, NSRM, SUHJ, IDSM and MQTM, each posting gains of around 10 percent. On the losing side, SGPL, KPUS, SERT and FPJM were among the biggest decliners.
The latest advance follows Wednesday’s sharp rebound, when bargain hunting helped the market recover from the previous session’s steep losses. Despite the recovery, investor sentiment has continued to be shaped by developments in the Middle East and their potential impact on global financial markets.
On Wednesday, the benchmark KSE-100 Index settled at 175,285.78 after gaining 1,766.97 points, or 1.02 percent.
Meanwhile, Asian stock markets traded lower on Thursday as investors remained cautious ahead of earnings from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). Softer than expected US inflation data also supported bond markets by easing concerns that the Federal Reserve may tighten monetary policy in the near term.
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