Buying returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining nearly 1,000 points on Thursday.

After opening with strong momentum, the index experienced multiple waves of buying interest that consistently defended higher support levels.

Despite a notable pullback in the afternoon, dragging the index to an intraday low of 170,563.40, aggressive accumulation near the 170,700–170,900 zone helped the market recover and push toward the intraday’s high of 171,455.76.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 171,175.50, recording a gain of 984.86 points or 0.58%.

Buying was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including MARI, OGDC, POL, PPL, ARL, HUBCO, MCB, UBL and NBP, settled in the green.