The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday reversed course after two days of notable gains as investors resorted to profit-booking at higher valuations, pulling the benchmark KSE-100 index down by over 1,500 points.

The market's downturn was primarily triggered by selling in blue-chip shares from fertiliser, energy, banking and technology sectors. The battle for control between bulls and bears continued for almost throughout the day and eventually the latter prevailed.

In the morning, the market got off to a positive start, when it hit the intra-day high of 163,385 points. It remained in the black for only a brief period and dropped quickly. Following continuous fluctuations, the index reached its intra-day low of 161,159 more than an hour before the end of trading.

At close, the KSE-100 index registered a significant fall of 1,521.39 points, or 0.93%, and settled at 161,281.77.

In its review, Topline Securities said bears returned to the stock market as investors booked profits after a two-day rally. "The local bourse witnessed renewed bearish sentiment where investors opted for profit-taking. The KSE-100 index remained under pressure for most of the day, touching the intra-day low of 1,643 points before settling at 161,282, down 1,521 points (0.93%)," it said.

Blue-chip counters including Engro, Mari Petroleum, Bank AL Habib, MCB Bank and TRG Pakistan led the decline, which collectively eroded 543 points from the benchmark index.

Despite the negative close, the overall market activity stayed vibrant, with trading volumes rising to 899 million shares and traded value reaching Rs37 billion, Topline added.

Arif Habib Limited (AHL) reported that Tuesday saw a consolidation phase following two sessions of strong gains. On the KSE-100 index, 17 shares rose while 81 fell with Fauji Fertiliser Company (+1.77%), Pakistan Services (+9.62%) and DH Partners (+10%) contributing the most to index gains. Engro Holdings (-1.6%), Mari Petroleum (-2.06%) and Bank AL Habib (-2.32%) were the biggest index drags, it said.

AHL pointed out that Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb in a virtual speech at the Pakistan International Maritime Expo & Conference said that seafood exports could cross $2 billion in the next three to four years compared to the current exports of $500 million.

Among corporate news, Fauji Cement (-1.75%) and Kapco (-1.44%) will jointly acquire 84.06% of the total issued and paid-up capital of Attock Cement. "The upside is anticipated to resume from the current support zone, which is 160-162k," AHL remarked.

Overall trading volumes decreased to 899.4 million shares compared with the previous tally of 949.4 million. The traded value of shares stood at Rs37.3 billion.

Shares of 479 companies were traded on the ready market, out of which 133 closed higher, 314 declined and 32 remained unchanged.

WorldCall Telecom led the volumes chart with trading in 78.9 million shares, losing Rs0.04 to close at Rs1.81. It was followed by Telecard Limited with 76.9 million shares, rising Rs0.81 to close at Rs12.68 and K-Electric with 71.6 million shares, gaining Rs0.23 to close at Rs5.52. Foreign investors were sellers of shares worth Rs717.8 million, according to NCCPL.