Share prices at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday regained the ground as KSE-100 rose by more than 500 points as investors hope for further cut in interest rate and on-going positive review of IMF team, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
At midday break for Juma prayers, the KSE-100 Index gained 577.04 points or 0.51 percent to reach 113,141.11 points.
Experts said attractive valuations and a stabilizing economy have improved the outlook for local shares, with pundits predicting a gain of about 40pc for the main KSE-100 Index this year.
Earlier on Thursday, a range-bound session marked trading at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as investor sentiment remained mixed in the corporate earnings season.
Though the KSE-100 index kicked off proceedings on a positive note, it closed with a loss of 361 points. The index touched the intra-day high of 113,477.71, but the strength proved short-lived, with bears taking over control before midday.
Amidst consolidation, the bourse wiped out all the gains and dropped to the intra-day low of 112,540.12 towards the close of trading.
At the end of the day, the benchmark KSE-100 index posted a loss of 360.86 points, or 0.32%, and settled at 112,564.08.
Some 41 stocks rose while 53 fell where major contributors to the index gains were Lucky Cement (+2.82%), Pakistan Services (+6.72%) and MCB Bank (+0.83%). On the flip side, Pakistan Petroleum (-2.66%), PSO (-2.95%) and Bank AL Habib (-4.57%) were the biggest laggards, it said.
Among corporate announcements, AHL mentioned, PSO reported a significant boost in 1HFY25 earnings, posting earnings per share (EPS) of Rs23.81, up three times year-on-year (YoY).
On a quarterly basis, PSO reported EPS of Rs15.35 for 2QFY25, a turnaround from the loss per share of Rs30.11 in the same quarter of last year, thanks to inventory gains and lower finance costs.
Reporter Rana Ayaz