Stocks open in positive, KSE-100 gains over 400 points in early trade

After a day of profit-taking, positive sentiments returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as the benchmark KSE-100 Index gained over 400 points during the opening minutes of trading on Friday. At 9:40am, the benchmark index was hovering at 185,975.24, an increase of 432.23 points or 0.23%. 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 MARI, PPL, WAFI, FFC, HBL, NBP and UBL, traded in the green. On Thursday, PSX witnessed a broad-based corrective session as investors engaged in profit-taking following a sharp rally that had lifted the market to historic highs over the past several sessions. The benchmark KSE-100 Index closed at 185,543.01 points, posting a decline of 975.70 points or 0.52%.