Positive momentum at bourse, KSE-100 up 2% in early trade

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) kicked off the week on a positive note, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 3,300 points during the opening minutes of trading on Monday. At 9:29am, the benchmark index was hovering at 166,269.73, up by 3,275.56 points or 2.01%. Buying interest 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 ARL, HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, PPL, POL, HBL, MCB, NBP and UBL, traded in the green. During the previous week, Pakistan’s equity market endured sustained pressure as persistent geopolitical uncertainty and tightening financial conditions dampened investor sentiment. The benchmark KSE-100 Index declined by 4.5%, shedding 7,677.87 points on a week-on-week basis to close at 162,994.17 points.