PSX rebounds sharply after rout, KSE-100 surges nearly 1,600 points

Buying returned at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) after a day of massive selling pressure, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 1,600 points during the opening minutes of trading on Friday. At 9:20am, the benchmark index was hovering at 183,916.88, an increase of 1,578.76 points or 0.87%. Buying interest was observed in key sectors, including commercial banks, cement, fertilizer, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs, power generation and refinery. Index-heavy stocks, including ARL, HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, PSO, SSGC, SNGPL, MCB, MEBL, NBP and UBL, traded in the green. On Thursday, PSX suffered a steep and broad-based sell-off as intense selling pressure across heavyweight stocks pushed benchmark indices sharply lower and erased recent gains.