Pakistan’s benchmark index, KSE-100, closed in the red on Wednesday, down 1632.25 points from its previous close of 166,258.54.

Volatility persisted in the market, with the index touching an intraday high of 168,191.64 and a low of 164,229.36, underscoring continued instability in trading activity.

This follows Tuesday’s particularly turbulent session that saw the index swing from an intraday gain of 1,546 points to a steep decline of 3,783 points as selling pressure intensified.

Analysts at Topline Securities note that the benchmark was primarily impacted by weak investor sentiment and futures rollover pressure.

The top active stocks were led by K-Electric Limited, which rose 1.85 per cent to Rs7.71 at a volume of 99,786,190, followed by Cnergyico PK Limited, which rose 8.31pc to Rs7.17 at a volume of 70,330,560, and First National Equities Limited, which rose 0.68pc to Rs1.48 at a volume of 33,421,278.

The top advancers were led by Media Times Ltd., which rose 11.02pc to Rs5.24, followed by Chenab Limited, which rose 10.55pc to Rs10.48, and Itanz Technologies Limited, which rose 10.03pc to Rs16.90.

The top decliners were led by LOADS Limited (Right), which fell 22.86pc to Rs0.81, followed by Gulistan Spinning Mills Limited, which declined 14.73pc to Rs5.15, and Abdullah Shah Ghazi Sugar Mills Limited, which declined 10.85pc to Rs8.13.

Overall, amid sustained market volaility market participation remained reasonable with total traded volume reaching 619 million shares and turnover standing at Rs 29.2 billion.

As analysts debate whether the recent market downturn reflects a natural correction or is the result of rising geopolitical uncertainty, an equally important factor to watch may be the impact corporate earnings reports could have on investor sentiment.