The Pakistan Stock Exchange has started Wednesday’s session on a positive note, with the benchmark KSE-100 index gaining 801.33 points, or 1.54 per cent, by the halfway mark of the trading session to reach 52,948.30.

Volumes were led by chemical company and commercial banking stocks as the benchmark index continued this week’s rally to peak just above 53,100 in Wednesday’s trading session.

95.72 million shares changed hands by the middle of the session, with a total worth of nearly Rs11.48 billion.

Stocks of 382 companies were traded, of which 212 gained in value, 162 declined and 8 remained unchanged.

Volumes were led by:

1. Bank of Punjab: 44.82m shares traded [0.00pc];

2. Power Cement(R): 44.72m shares traded [-0.59pc];

3. Lotte Chemical: 25.94m shares traded [-6.01pc];

4. Aisha Steel (R): 8.32m shares traded [+12.37pc]; and,

5. K-Electric Ltd: 7.05m shares traded [+1.41pc].

This is a mid-day report that may not reflect recent changes in market movement. For a more detailed assessment of market activity, read our full-day report published after market close at 3.30pm PST.