The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed another negative session on Tuesday as its benchmark KSE-100 Index lost 292 points on profit-taking.

The KSE-100 saw some buying in the opening hours, hitting an intra-day high of 78,541.22.

However, bears largely dominated as they tossed the index below 78,000.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 77,940.58, down by 291.52 points or 0.37%.

“The equity market ended on a negative note with the benchmark index remaining volatile throughout the trading session,” brokerage house Ismail Iqbal Securities said in its post-market report.

Topline Securities said the market experienced a mixed day on Tuesday as the KSE-100 reached an intraday high of 78,541 points (+309 points) and an intraday low of 77,909 points (-323 points), ultimately settling the day at 77,941.

The fertiliser, foods, cement and E&P sectors made positive contributions, with ENGRO, UNITY, FATIMA, LUCK and POL collectively adding 129 points. Conversely, MCB, OGDC, and HUBC collectively lost 164 points, according to Topline Securities.

On Monday, the KSE-100 lost 578 points as investors moved to book profits.

In a key development, the bidding process for the privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will be held in the first week of August as authorities in Islamabad seek avenues to grab funds for the cash-starved economy.

The development came during a meeting of the Federal Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad on Tuesday, reported Radio Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb wrapped up discussions on the Federal Budget 2024-25 in the National Assembly, maintaining higher tax rates on the salaried group, and announcing an honoraria amounting to 3-month basic pay for the staff and officers of the National Assembly and Senate.

The Pakistani rupee registered a marginal gain against the US dollar, appreciating 0.04% in the inter-bank market on Tuesday. At close, the local unit settled at 278.50, a gain of Re0.12 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index decreased to 292.18 million from 385.17 million a session ago.

The value of shares declined to Rs11.41 billion from Rs15.45 billion in the previous session.

Pervez Ahmed Co was the volume leader with 26.81 million shares, followed by K-Electric Ltd with 17.90 million shares, and WorldCall Telecom with 16.87 million shares.

Shares of 433 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 144 registered an increase, 219 recorded a fall, while 70 remained unchanged.