The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed the week on a positive note as bulls continued to dominate trading on Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 530 points to close at 42,088.

Though the index showed some mixed activity in the first half of the trading session, the benchmark gained some positive momentum in the second half.

The market touched a bottom of 41,471 points during intra-day trading, whereas it touched the day's high at 42,156 points near the close of the session.

Volumes edged up to 261 million shares valued at around Rs13 billion traded. Of the 364 traded symbols, 246 advanced, 101 declined and 17 remained unchanged.

"Stocks closed bullish led by scrips across the board as investors weigh strong financial results in the oil and the cement sectors in the quarter-end earning seasons rally at the PSX," Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said.

He was of the view that institutional interest in the late session, reports of rising local cement prices, strong quarter-end earnings announcements by APL and DGKC, and higher global crude prices buoyed the index.

"The government levy of higher import duties will supporte auto stocks and subdued political noise played a catalyst role in higher close at the PSX," he added.

The engineering sector dominated the market with around 39m shares traded. The chemical and the textile sectors followed with and 25m and 23.5m shares traded, respectively.

Volumes were led by: Engro Polymer: 20.7m shares traded [+2.81pc];

Azgard Nine: 17.6m shares traded [+7.79pc];

TRG Pak Ltd: 15.9m shares traded [+4.81pc];

Aisha Steel Mill: 2.93m shares traded [+14.6pc];

Dost Steels Ltd: 1.50m shares traded [+14.1pc].

Follow Dawn Business on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business, finance and tech from Pakistan and across the world.

Opinion

Editorial

Growth to stability
29 Apr, 2026

Growth to stability

THE State Bank’s decision to raise its key policy rate by 100 basis points to 11.5pc signals a shift in priorities...
Constitutional order
29 Apr, 2026

Constitutional order

FOLLOWING the passage of the 26th and 27th Amendments, in 2024 and 2025 respectively, jurists and members of the...
Protecting childhood
29 Apr, 2026

Protecting childhood

AN important victory for child protection was secured on Monday with the Punjab Assembly’s passage of the Child...
Unlearnt lessons
Updated 28 Apr, 2026

Unlearnt lessons

THE US is undoubtedly the world’s top military and economic power at this time. Yet as the Iran quagmire has ...
Solar vision?
28 Apr, 2026

Solar vision?

THE recent imposition of certain regulatory requirements for small-scale solar systems, followed by the reversal of...
Breaking malaria’s grip
28 Apr, 2026

Breaking malaria’s grip

FOR the first time in decades, defeating malaria in our lifetime is possible, according to WHO. Yet in Pakistan,...