The bull took charge at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday as shares climbed over 300 points on positive investor sentiment.

According to the PSX website, at 12:04pm, the benchmark KSE-100 index climbed 512.78 points, up by 0.8 per cent, to stand at 64,967.0 from the previous close of 64,454.22.

The bourse retracted marginally and closed at 64,822.43, up by 368.21 points or 0.57pc from the previous close.

Mohammed Sohail, chief executive of Topline Securities, said that the upward trajectory continued on expectations of measures to address economic and circular debt issues by the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).

Raza Jafri, head of equities at Intermarket Securities, said, “Investor enthusiasm remains intact, particularly in oil and gas names.”

“High quality cement and technology stocks are also seeing renewed buying interest after correcting,” he said.

Awais Ashraf, director of research at Akseer Research, attributed the bullish trajectory to reports settlement of circular debt, saying this would in turn yield hefty dividends for Pakistani Petroleum Limited (PPL), Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC) and Pakistan State Oil (PSO) if executed.

However, he added that the deal was contingent on the nod from the finance ministry and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).