Equities opens strongly, KSE-100 up over 1,100 points in early trade

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) kicked off trading on a strong note, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 1,100 points during the opening minutes of trading on Friday. At 10:25am, the benchmark index was hovering at 171,956.60, an increase of 1,126.38 points or 0.66%. Buying interest was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and refinery. Index-heavy stocks, including ARL, PRL, HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, PSO, WAFI, HBL, MCB and NBP, traded in the green. On Wednesday, PSX settled on a subdued note as cautious investor sentiment during the roll-over week led to selective selling in heavyweight stocks, dragging key indices into negative territory despite an improvement in overall trading activity. The benchmark KSE-100 Index declined by 243.51 points, or 0.14%, to settle at 170,830.22 points.