Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX)succumbed to selling pressure on Tuesday, as benchmark kse-100 index plummeted 392.01points before the closing bell to clock at 43,282.27level. The index oscillated between negative and positive territory throughout the session to eventually clock in red zone. The selling pressure, throughout the session, was witnessed across the board as investors resorted to profit taking. Moreover, selling pressure was also witnessed owing to the last day of settlement, as open positions remained pending from the rollover week. Market sentiments were also dented by the rising uncertainty around the pending International Monetary Fund (IMF) review, as Pakistan has failed to meet the IMF demand regarding structural reforms in State-Owned Enterprise (SOEs), a condition set to restart the $6 billion loan programme, which has been stalled for about ten months now.According to the details, the international financial institution had asked Pakistan to submit a new law in the parliament, aimed at modernising and defining the role of the state as owner, regulator and shareholder of SOEs, by September this year. The lender had also asked to sort SOEs into companies for sale, liquidation or retaining under state ownership. Investors also reacted to reports fter Pakistan on Tuesday reported its first confirmed cases of a new coronavirus strain detected in the United Kingdom earlier this year. According to the Sindh health department, 12 samples of UK returnees were taken for genotyping out of which six were positive and three showed the new variant of the Covid virus in the first phase.News of the coronavirus variant coming to Pakistan is concerning because it, according to a study by the Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the UK, is on average 56 per cent more contagious than the original version, is spreading fast and is likely to boost hospitalisations and deaths. The entry of mutated strain of virus sent shockwaves among the investors who fear another wave of lockdown. The exploration & production sector also witnessed selling pressure during the day as brief rally in global crude oil deflated as investors ignored a broader market surge that pushed equities to an all-time high and focused instead on looming new supply from OPEC+.Prices earlier advanced in tandem with broader markets after U.S. President Donald Trump signed a bill containing $900 billion in pandemic relief. While the approval raised hopes for stronger oil consumption in 2021, rising worldwide coronavirus infections, and related travel curbs, are weighing on the short-term outlook. During the day, the kse-100 index touched its intra-day high at 43,912.10 points after it gained 264.82 points, however paring earlier gains its lost 443.6points to touch its intra-day low of 43,203.68 level. The volume chart was led by Unity Foods Limited followed by K-electric Limited and Pakistan Refinery Limited. The scrips exchanged, 42.33 million, 38.15 million and 32 million shares respectively. The volume at the kse-100 index increased from 241.17 million shares from the previous session to 297.89 million shares, while the all share volume also increased from 463.42 million shares in the previous session to 503 million shares According to the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited foreign investors were net sellers of worth $39.97 million worth of equities. Among the local investors, the selling chart was led by Banks with $11.74 million worth of equities.