Buying interest was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 1,300 points during the trading session on Thursday. At 12pm, the benchmark index was hovering at 169,303.71, up by 1,281.91 points or 0.76%. Buying was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks, including LUCK, MCB, MEBL, NBP, UBL, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL and ARL, traded in the green. On Wednesday, the PSX remained firmly under selling pressure as elevated international oil prices and persistent regional geopolitical tensions dented investor sentiment, prompting widespread profit-taking across key sectors. Concerns over macroeconomic stability, external account pressures and the risk of prolonged disruption in global oil markets weighed on the market throughout the session. The benchmark KSE-100 Index plunged 1,370.52 points, or 0.81%, to close at 168,021.80 points. Internationally, shares edged up in Asia on Thursday as investors bet the Federal Reserve is finally getting the jump on inflation, delivering its first rate hike in more than
