Shares at the Pakistan Stock Exchange gained 300 points on Wednesday ahead of tomorrow’s general elections.

According to the PSX website, the KSE-100 index gained 344.86 points, or 0.54 per cent, to close at 64,143.87 from the previous close of 63,799.01.

Mohammed Sohail, chief executive of Topline Securities, said the market “rallied as it expected smooth elections”.

He added that uncertainty regarding the polls had lifted and it seemed all was “set for elections”.

Shahab Farooq, director of research at Next Capital Limited, however, said that the “market today was largely lacklustre with elections tomorrow”.

He added that the market would likely resume positive momentum post-elections, with “good results and payouts already announced” and more to come soon.

Awais Ashraf, director of research at Akseer Research, said the activity was “primarily driven by stocks expected to yield favourable results and dividends in the upcoming results”.

However, he added that investors had reduced their positions in Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC) — noted to be the largest negative contributor in the index— due to “concerns about the potential rollback of the circular debt settlement through cash dividend submitted to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)”.

He highlighted that Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) made gains over “anticipation of improved recoveries” after the hike in gas prices was approved by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) in line with IMF conditions.