The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a volatile trading session on Monday, with the benchmark KSE-100 index swinging between gains and losses before ending the day in the red, as investors booked profits after an early rally inspired by positive regional market sentiment.

Taking cues from a broad-based advance across Asian equities, the market opened on a strong footing, with investors initially encouraged by improving geopolitical sentiment and softer oil prices. Buying interest was visible across a range of sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, chemical, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing firms and refineries.

The benchmark KSE-100 index surged to 180,347.98 points in early trading by 9:34am, up 1,425.23 points or 0.80% from the previous close. However, the upward momentum proved unsustainable, as investors opted to lock in gains, erasing the market's early advance and pushing the index into negative territory.

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During the session, the benchmark index touched an intra-day high of 180,507.82 points and a low of 178,337.14 points, reflecting heightened volatility. By the close of trading, the KSE-100 index had shed 450.89 points, or 0.25%, to settle at 178,471.87 points, compared with the previous close of 178,922.75 points.

Despite the decline, trading activity remained healthy, as investors continued to assess regional developments and domestic market fundamentals, while profit-taking in heavyweight stocks weighed on overall market performance.

Cumulatively, trading volume decreased to 807.4 million shares from Friday’s close of 1.05 billion. The value of traded shares stood at Rs36.17 billion.
In the ready market, shares of 491 companies were traded. Of these, 214 shares rose, 240 fell and 37 remained unchanged. WorldCall Telecom became the volume leader, with trading in 59.6 million shares, falling Rs0.03 to close at Rs1.26.