PSX: Buying returns as KSE-100 gains over 400 points

The Pakistan Stock Exchange closed higher on Wednesday, with the KSE-100 index settling at 180,311.21 after a gain of 464.53 points, or 0.26 per cent, according to Business Recorder. The benchmark had shed 1,463.60 points, or 0.81 per cent, on Tuesday, closing at 179,846.68.

Trading swung sharply through the session. The index reached a peak of 180,901.26 points early on, then came under pressure around midday and dropped to 179,920.10 in the early afternoon. Demand returned later, lifting the index back into positive territory.

Abroad, oil and gold moved higher as geopolitical tensions rose before key US inflation data. US crude was up 0.89 per cent at $83.94 a barrel, Brent reached $89.60 and spot gold gained 0.46 per cent to $4,387.03 an ounce. Anadolu Agency, citing government sources in Pakistan, reported that Washington and Tehran agreed to extend their ceasefire, a move made before a 60-day window set by the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding lapsed.