Positive momentum at bourse, KSE-100 up nearly 700 points

Stocks kicked off trading on a positive note, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 700 points during the opening minutes of trading on Wednesday. At 9:40am, the benchmark index was hovering at 188,895.12, an increase of 692.27 points or 0.37%. Buying interest was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, HBL, MCB, MEBL and NBP, traded in the green. In a key development, total foreign investment into Pakistan dropped substantially to $207 million in July–December 2025-26, down from $1.343 billion a year earlier.