The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) posted moderate gains on Tuesday as the benchmark KSE-100 Index advanced 860.09 points, closing at 188,621.78, reflecting an increase of 0.46%. The session remained largely positive despite selective profit-taking in key banking names.

During the day, the benchmark traded within a range of 1,766.36 points, hitting an intraday high of 188,958.37 (+1,196.68 pts) and a low of 187,192.01 (-569.68 pts). The total traded volume on the benchmark index stood at 454.30 million shares, indicating consistent participation from institutional and retail investors.

Breadth remained slightly positive as 57 index constituents closed higher, while 43 declined, showing a balanced market with sector rotation at play.

Top performing stocks during the session included SAZEW (+9.13%), AICL (+5.41%), PTC (+4.94%), ATRL (+4.91%), and FATIMA (+4.80%), buoyed by renewed interest in investment banks, energy, and industrials. Meanwhile, notable laggards included LOTCHEM (-5.40%), PIBTL (-2.08%), SRVI (-1.94%), PGLC (-1.80%), and MEBL (-1.69%), primarily due to profit-taking and valuation adjustments.

Index contribution data highlighted strong support from exploration and fertilizer sectors, with the biggest positive contributors being ENGROH (+205.80 pts), PPL (+145.72 pts), SAZEW (+114.13 pts), OGDC (+107.46 pts), and PSO (+87.89 pts). On the downside, the benchmark was dragged by MEBL (-128.93 pts), HUBC (-63.24 pts), UBL (-56.68 pts), LUCK (-56.24 pts), and HBL (-48.47 pts).

Sector-wise, the Oil & Gas Exploration sector led market support with +235.05 pts, followed by Investment Banks / Securities (+202.19 pts), Fertilizer (+108.35 pts), Oil & Gas Marketing (+89.26 pts), and Automobile Assemblers (+89.10 pts). Conversely, selling pressure emerged in Commercial Banks (-120.61 pts), Power Generation & Distribution (-48.29 pts), Chemical (-36.17 pts), Leather (-28.59 pts), and Transport (-12.79 pts).

In the broader market, the All-Share Index settled at 113,265.46, gaining 588.60 points (+0.52%). Market-wide activity remained elevated with total volumes rising to 1,225.81 million shares, compared to 1,198.66 million in the previous session, while traded value improved marginally to Rs63.90 billion, up Rs0.10 billion day-on-day.

A total of 519,460 trades were executed across 486 companies, of which 238 closed higher, 213 lower, and 35 remained unchanged.

Volume leaders were dominated by retail-driven counters, including HASCOL (113.00M shares), KEL (70.44M), TREET (58.61M), PIBTL (49.90M), and CNERGY (49.29M).

On a performance basis, the benchmark continues to reflect strong macro momentum, having gained 62,994 points (+50.14%) during the fiscal year, while rising 14,567 points (+8.37%) year-to-date, underscoring sustained investor confidence despite volatility in global and regional markets.