PSX gains 465 points as buying returns across key sectors

According to The Express Tribune, the Pakistan Stock Exchange ended Wednesday's session higher, with the KSE-100 index up 464.53 points, or 0.26%, at 180,311.22. Buying came back into equities, led by oil and gas exploration companies, which gave the benchmark its firmest support. Purchases also reached car assemblers, cement makers, bank stocks, fertiliser producers, fuel marketers and power generators.

Trading stayed in the green all session, with the index ranging from 179,920.10 to 180,901.27 points. Sentiment also got a lift from Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, who told Bloomberg that Washington and Tehran were close to an arrangement, a development Pakistan signalled could ease energy-market tensions. Crude still rose as attacks on a pair of vessels in the Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb straits fanned supply fears, though US crude stockpile data tempered the move.

KTrade Securities described the gain as a modest recovery from the previous session, when the index slipped below 180,000 points. Volume eased to 744.2 million shares from 860.2 million on Tuesday, valued at Rs32.1 billion. Of 491 companies traded, 249 closed higher and 211 fell, with Cnergyico PK leading on volume. Hub Power, Mari Energies and Habib Bank were among the gainers, while Meezan Bank and Oil & Gas Development Company weighed on breadth.