Staff Report:
The KSE-100 index closed at 85,669, up 5 points or 0.1%. The session saw significant volatility, with the index peaking at 86,451 and dipping to 85,444, driven largely by profit-taking and an inability to hold above 86,000. Local institutions’ buying activity supported the market.

Key contributors to the index included MCB, LCI, BAHL, HUBC, and HBL, collectively adding 292 points. On the downside, FFC, EFERT, and POL dragged the index down by 215 points.Russia will modernize Pakistan’s fertilizer plants: Aleksei Gruzdev

Trading was robust, with 592 million shares traded, amounting to Rs 31 billion. KEL was the most actively traded stock, with 55 million shares exchanged.