PSX gains 769 points despite profit-taking

The Express Tribune reported that the KSE-100 index added 769 points, or 0.46%, on Thursday to finish at 166,186, taking it back above the 166,000 mark on broad buying. Ali Najib, a deputy trading head at Arif Habib Limited, said the index kept its upward path through the session after a positive opening. Earlier it had reached 166,877, a rise of 1,460 points or 0.88%, before selling in certain shares pared part of that advance.

Turnover reached Rs23.5 billion across 516.4 million shares, and Cnergyico PK recorded the busiest volume with 62.8 million shares traded. Those ten stocks, PTC, FFC, SYS, HUBC, OGDC, MEBL, LUCK, HBL, PPL and UBL, together contributed 560 points to the benchmark's rise. The close above 166,000 was termed constructive for the near term, though profit-taking near the peak suggested some investors sold at higher levels.

Analysts cautioned that profit-taking could temper momentum despite the recovery above 166,000. Regional tensions also added to caution, as Houthi attacks on oil installations and airports in Saudi Arabia heightened security concerns.