Mari Petroleum copper-gold find in Chagai lifts KSE-100 500 points
Mari Petroleum's copper-gold discovery in Balochistan pulled the KSE-100 out of an early slide on Friday, lifting the benchmark 500.11 points, or 0.28%, to close at 177,873.88.
The company said its wholly owned subsidiary, Mari Minerals, had made a new porphyry copper-gold discovery at the East Siah Diq (ESD-1) target in Chagai. The news landed in the second half of the session and flipped sentiment, with MARI trading close to its upper circuit. MARI, LUCK, PPL, PSEL and FATIMA together added roughly 722 points to the index.
The session was volatile throughout, swinging between an intraday high of 1,910 points and a low of 508 points. Early pressure came from renewed concern over rising international oil prices, with Brent crude around $96/bbl after US President Donald Trump's remarks that the US does not need a deal with Iran and that JD Vance should focus on domestic matters. The oil and gas sector then drove the recovery.
Traded volume reached about 1.04 billion shares against 1.07 billion in the previous session, with traded value of Rs31.0 billion. Of 497 companies traded, 284 closed higher, 184 fell and 29 were unchanged. WorldCall Telecom led on volume with 303 million shares, gaining Rs0.13 to Rs1.38. Foreign investors bought shares worth Rs179 million, according to the National Clearing Company.
Market direction now hinges on weekend developments, particularly the geopolitical front and any progress in US-Iran negotiations.
