Buying returns to PSX, benchmark index up nearly 600 points in early trade

A day after massive selling, buying returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 600 points during the opening minutes of trading on Tuesday. At 9:50am, the benchmark index was hovering at 171,157.75, up by 557.55 points or 0.33%. Buying 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 and MEBL, traded in the green. On Monday, PSX started June on a bearish note as investor sentiment remained fragile amid the absence of a conclusive United States-Iran peace agreement over the weekend, triggering broad-based profit-taking and selling pressure across key sectors.