The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) gave up its early gains on Tuesday as selling pressure pushed the benchmark KSE-100 index into negative territory during midday trading.
The index started the session on a positive note and climbed 527 points to an intraday high of 171,680.73 around 9:56am. Trading volume at the time stood at 22.82 million shares.
However, the buying momentum faded later in the session. The KSE-100 slipped into the red after 12:35pm and continued to trade below the previous close.
By 12:58pm, the index was down 180.60 points, or 0.11 percent, at 170,972.56, with total volume reaching 61.59 million shares. The index had moved between 170,959.81 and 171,680.73 during the day so far.
Despite the intraday decline, the benchmark remained 8.52 percent higher than a year earlier. On a year-to-date basis, however, it was down 1.77 percent.
Trading activity remained concentrated in several stocks. TISL gained 0.80 percent to Rs5.04, while CNERGY rose 0.08 percent to Rs13.22. PRL edged up 0.03 percent to Rs86.95 and PIBTL added 0.56 percent to Rs16.05.
SPSL was among the stronger active stocks, rising 2.48 percent to Rs16.92. SPAC1 gained 10.03 percent to Rs18.76, while CLVL was up 0.90 percent at Rs42.60.
Among the top gainers, ESBL rose 10.76 percent to Rs10.29, followed by SPAC1 and DFSM, which gained 10.03 percent and 10.02 percent, respectively. QUICE, ASHT and FPJM also rose about 10 percent.
On the other side, PKGI fell 10.01 percent to Rs43.53, while GEMMEL dropped 9.51 percent to Rs39.10. ELCM declined 8.04 percent to Rs311. MDTL lost 7.50 percent to Rs8.88, while BAPL and BUXL fell 6.93 percent and 6.43 percent, respectively.
The session remains in progress, with the KSE-100 continuing to move between gains and losses as investors assess market direction.
Read next: PSX recovers, up 397 points by midday after early stumble