The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a volatile session on Tuesday as the KSE-100 Index lost momentum after a strong start, eventually closing down 165 points at 139,254.

During the session, the index hit an intraday high of 140,202 and a low of 139,105, reflecting investors' cautious sentiment amid profit-taking at higher levels. Total traded volume reached 193.4 million shares, with a market turnover of PKR 17.5 billion.

Major Laggards:

Key stocks that pulled the index lower included:

• ENGROH (-1.2%, -85 points)
• HBL (-1.2%, -58 points)
• PKGP (-6.8%, -53 points)
• MCB (-1.1%, -51 points)
• MEBL (-0.6%, -30 points)

Volume Leaders:

Heavy trading activity was observed in:

• HGFA – 20 million shares
• AKBL – 19.3 million shares

Sector Overview:

A mixed performance was seen across key sectors such as:

• Cement
• Banking
• Fertilizers
• Exploration & Production (E&Ps)

Despite breaching the 140,000 psychological mark, profit-taking kept the index under pressure. Market volatility is expected to persist in the short term, but the broader trend remains positive, fueled by expectations of strong dividend payouts—especially in the Banking and Fertilizer sectors.

E&Ps , Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) , Fertilizers , Banking sectors continue to offer attractive valuations and robust earnings potential as FY25 progresses.