PSX: KSE-100 opens marginally higher, adds nearly 700 points

Demand spread across the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Wednesday, lifting the KSE-100 by close to 700 points during trading, according to Business Recorder. At 12:50pm the index was at 169,146.95, a rise of 686.85 points, or 0.41 per cent. Banks, refineries, power producers, cement makers and oil marketers were among the sectors attracting purchases, while HUBCO, PSO, POL, MCB, MEBL and UBL moved higher.

Separately, the FBR told the IMF that 1,016 retailers and shopkeepers had filed returns through the Aasan Tax Scheme. The disclosure came up in review discussions for the fourth review of a $7 billion Extended Fund Facility.

Tuesday's session had already ended strongly, with the KSE-100 closing at 168,460.11 points after a gain of 2,592.79 points, or 1.56 per cent. Investors cited easing worries about crude prices and bargain hunting after the prior session's steep fall. Overseas, Asian markets eased slightly on Wednesday even as Wall Street hit records, while oil climbed with a Gulf of Mexico storm and tensions between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthis in focus. US crude gained 1.05 per cent to $90.38 a barrel, and Brent rose 1.06 per cent to $101.65.