Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended its negative momentum on Tuesday, with the benchmark index closing lower amid persistent selling pressure and cautious investor sentiment.X

The market opened in the green and staged a brief early rally, pushing the benchmark to an intra-day high of 169,237.51 points. However, the positivity proved short-lived as sustained selling emerged across key sectors, dragging the index sharply into negative territory by mid-morning.

The index hit an intra-day low of 163,907.59 points before recovering some losses in late-session trading. Despite the partial rebound, the market closed on a weak note and settled at 166,258.55 points, down 1,432.54 points or 0.85%.

Analysts attributed the continued decline to prevailing negative sentiment, as investors remained wary due to persistent macroeconomic concerns and the absence of positive triggers in sight.

Topline Securities observed that investor sentiment remained fragile as the benchmark index continued to grapple with the aftermath of an 11% decline from its recent peak, keeping participants cautious and highly selective.

The session witnessed pronounced volatility, with the index staging a brief rebound to an intra-day high of 1,546 points before intensified selling pressure pushed it to a low of 3,783 points.

Despite the sharp swings, the market managed to recover part of its losses by the close, settling at 166,258, down 1,432 points (0.86%).

The see-saw movement reflected nervous positioning as investors balanced emerging valuation comfort against lingering uncertainty and a lack of near-term positive triggers.

Index-heavy constituents United Bank, Habib Bank, Faiji Fertiliser, Mari Energies, and Hub Power remained the principal laggards, collectively dragging the benchmark down by 949 points. On the other hand, Lucky Cement, Pakistan Oilfield, MCB Bank, Enro Fertiliser, and Attock Refinery provided partial support, adding 439 points to the index.

Overall trading volume jumped to 687.9million shares from Monday’s volume of 461. 2million. The value of traded shares were Rs38.4bilion. Shares of 487 companies were traded. Of these 139 stocks closed higher, 292 fell and 56 remained unchanged. K-Electric was the volume leader with trading in 64.9 million shares, falling Rs0.09 to close at Rs7.57.