PSX extends bullish momentum amid Middle East peace hopes

Pakistan’s KSE-100 was up 1,140.70 points, or 0.69%, at 166,877.45 by 2:00 pm on Thursday, following a rise of more than 1,700 points earlier in the session. Profit by Pakistan Today reported that buying spanned automobile assemblers, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas businesses, and power generation firms, as hopes of Middle East peace discussions supported sentiment.

The advance came after Wednesday’s 1,269.55-point gain, which took the index to 165,736.76. In international markets, crude prices eased on Thursday amid renewed hopes for peace talks: Brent fell 0.7% to $114.47 a barrel and US WTI lost 1.1% to $101.65. The source also reported mixed Asian share trading and a Federal Reserve decision to leave interest rates unchanged, despite two members favouring an increase.