PSX: KSE-100 up nearly 400 points in first half

Business Recorder reported that the benchmark KSE-100 index was rising on Friday, standing at 177,769.21 at 12pm after a gain of 446.44 points, or 0.25 per cent. Buying emerged across the Pakistan Stock Exchange early in the session. The figures are an intraday snapshot, so the final close for the day was not yet known.

Buying interest appeared in several key sectors, including automobile assemblers, oil and gas exploration firms, oil marketing companies, power generators and refineries. Index heavyweights HBL, HUBCO, MARI, NBP, OGDC, PPL and PSO traded in positive territory, with ARL also among the names moving higher.

The session followed a Thursday in which late profit-taking erased early gains, leaving the index at 177,322.78 after a 47.93-point decline. Abroad, Asian shares turned cautious after a technology rally fuelled by Nvidia, and Brent crude edged lower to $89.63 a barrel while heading for a weekly fall above 5 per cent. Investors are watching Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh at the Jackson Hole Symposium, where futures put the chance of a rate increase at the September 16 meeting near 35 per cent.