The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended gains by midday on Wednesday as investors took comfort from continued hopes of political engagement between the government and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), alongside buying across key sectors and a rise in global oil prices.

The KSE-100 Index was trading at 168,900.60, up 440.50 points or 0.26%, by 12:33pm, after opening at 168,691.63, up 231.53 points or 0.14%.

Buying was visible in automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas marketing companies, power generation and refinery stocks, helping the benchmark hold above the 168,000-point level.

The index hit an intraday high of 168,949.72 and a low of 168,065.86, while volume stood at around 136 million shares and traded value crossed Rs5.18 billion.

Read: PSX rallies over easing political woes

Sentiment was supported by expectations that dialogue between the government and PTI could resume, despite the party dismissing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s renewed bid for talks as a “mere offer”. PTI said, however, that the government could approach opposition leaders in the National Assembly and Senate if it were serious about negotiations. Opposition leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai also urged PTI to respond positively if the government formally approached it, keeping the possibility of renewed talks open. 

Meanwhile, oil prices climbed as markets weighed potential supply constraints from a storm heading towards oil-producing regions in the United States and attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on Saudi Arabia against increased supplies of Middle Eastern crude.