Buying momentum continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 500 points during the opening minutes of trading on Friday.

At 9:35am, the benchmark index was hovering at 169,047.83, up by 533.39 points or 0.32%.

Buying was observed in key sectors, including commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration companies and power generation. Index-heavy stocks, including HUBCO, MARI, POL, BoK, MCB and JSBL, traded in the green.

On Thursday, the PSX witnessed a powerful bullish session as improved investor confidence, fueled by optimism surrounding ongoing United States-Iran negotiations and a decline in international oil prices, triggered aggressive buying. The benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 3,683.02 points or 2.23% on a day-on-day basis to settle at 168,514.45 points.

Internationally, Asian stocks rose on Friday while the U.S. dollar sat near six- week ​highs and oil prices were whipsawed as investors held on to hopes of a breakthrough in ‌US-Iran peace talks, although both sides remained at odds over key issues.

The worry for investors remains the near closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for the world’s energy supplies, which has sent oil prices soaring and rewired the global interest rate outlook because ​of inflationary concerns.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there had been “some good signs” in talks to end ​the nearly three-month-old war in the Middle East, but differences remain over Tehran’s ⁠uranium stockpile and controls over the waterway.

In stock markets, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japanwas 0.3% ​higher, set for a modest weekly rise. Japan’s Nikkei gained 2%.

US stocks futures rose 0.2%, and European futures gained 0.8%.

This is an intraday update