Upbeat results helped the Pakistan Stock Exchange remain in the green on Wednesday. The KSE100 index gained by 512 points to reach 46,812.

The index took off to a positive start and reached its high for the day before noon. Second half of trading saw the market hover at those levels as investors were seen booking profits.

The bourse was able shed negative sentiment posed by the pandemic as investors eyed positive quarterly results posted by the top 100 companies. Broader economic figures have also pointed to a speedy economic recovery from the pandemic. The country’s current account also showed a surplus of $773M during the first 10 months of 2020-2021. This can be attributed to higher remittances and exports.

Asian equity markets also gained in today’s trade as the U.S. Federal Reserve announced that they will be able to curb high levels of inflation. Oil remained steady as investors focused on the possible return of Iranian supply to be able to offset any increase in demand by the U.S.

At the closing bell 251 companies had advanced with 124 closing in the red. 15 scrips remained unchanged.

Market participation for the KSE100 Index increased to 306M from 225M in the previous session (36% on d/d basis). Major contribution to total market volume came from WTL, HUMNL and UNITY combined for 865M shares out of the total market volume of 1,563M shares.