Stocks opens positive, KSE-100 up over 300 points

Positive momentum was observed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 300 points during the opening hours of trading on Wednesday. At 10:45am, the benchmark index was hovering at 171,410.93, an increase of 337.20 points or 0.20%. Buying interest was seen in key sectors, including commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and refineries. Index-heavy stocks, including ARL, NRL, HUBCO, MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, HBL, MCB, MEBL, NBP and UBL, traded in the green. A consortium led by AHCL on Tuesday emerged as the winning bidder for the acquisition of a 75% stake in Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), submitting a top bid of Rs135 billion, which was well above the government’s initial minimum price of Rs100 billion and the base price of Rs115 billion, at which the auction began.