Share prices at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) maintained their bullish trend on Monday as the stocks surged by nearly 900 points as a major Pakistan-Saudi Investment Conference opened in Islamabad, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

By noon, the benchmark KSE-100 index gained 970.88 points or 1.20 percent, tossing it to 72,772.97.

There was across-the-board buying in key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, chemical, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies and OMCs. Index-heavy shares including PSO, SSGC, SNGPL, OGDC, PPL and NBP were in the green.

The buying was witnessed as investor sentiment was buoyed by optimism surrounding the potential deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and falling inflation figures that renewed hope of a cut in the key policy rate.

During the previous week, the, the PSX had remained under pressure due to selling mainly by local investors and institutions. The benchmark KSE-100 index had declined by 840.65 points on week-on-week basis and closed at 71,902.09 points.

Reporter Ayaz Rana