The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index endured a range-bound session on Tuesday as it faced both bullish and bearish pressures. The index ended the day on a negative note.

The KSE-100 started the session positive, hitting an intra-day high of 64,786.35. However, a selling spree in later part of the day pushed the index below 64,000, followed by some late-session buying that brought the KSE-100 back above 64,000 before closing.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 64,170.58, down by 66.45 points or 0.10%.

On Monday, the KSE-100 closed 0.43% lower as a selling spree in the second half of the session erased the gains made in the first half.

In a related development, Caretaker Minister for Commerce, Industries & Investment, Dr Gohar Ejaz on Tuesday said the government was commitment to making Pakistani markets accessible to the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region.

“We intend to achieve this by deepening economic ties with MENA economies,” said the interim minister in a tweet post after discussions with Ahmed Samir, the Minister of Commerce of Egypt, at the 4th Pakistan Africa Trade Development Conference (PATDC) and Single Country Exhibition (SCE) at Cairo.

Meanwhile, the rupee continued its appreciation run against the US dollar for the fifth consecutive session, appreciating 0.02% in the inter-bank market on Tuesday. As per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the local currency settled at 281.22 after an increase of Re0.06 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index decreased to 449 million from 484 million a session before.

The value of shares edged lower to Rs12.28 billion from Rs12.74 billion in the previous session.

K-Electric Ltd was the volume leader with 114 million shares, followed by Hascol Petrol with 36 million shares, and P.I.A.C.(A) at 20 million shares.

Shares of 352 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 141 registered an increase, 187 recorded a fall, while 24 remained unchanged.