Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained bearish for the second day in a row on Wednesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding -284.38 points (-0.62 percent) to close at 45,533.30 points. The market opened on a positive note and the indices remained mostly in green territory for the first half of the session. Later, the bears took charge of the market, which lasted till the end of the session. The market witnessed selling pressure as the yield in secondary market crossed 14 percent level, hinting at the policy rate hike in the next meeting and shift in asset allocation simultaneously. The market also remained under pressure amid expected increase in prices of petroleum products and electricity tariff in the coming days, following an agreement with the International Monetary Fund in this regard. The removal of oil and electricity subsidies will raise inflation and overall cost of production. Moreover, the rollover week is also going on, which also prompts selling pressure. The KSE-100 Index moved in a range of 475.87 points, showing an intraday high of 45,958.37 and a low of 45,482.50 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index shed 116.27 points (-0.37 percent) to close at 31,000 points, while KMI All Share Islamic Index shed 106.61 points (-0.47 percent) to close at 22,458.44 points. A total of 347 companies traded shares in the stock exchange compared to 341 a day earlier. Out of traded companies, shares of 117 closed up, shares of 200 closed down while shares of 30 companies remained unchanged. Out of 92 traded companies in the KSE-100 Index, 33 closed up, 56 closed down and three remained unchanged. The overall market volumes increased by 13.62 million to 223.82 million shares. Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index increased by 29.37 million to 122.99 million shares. The number of total trades increased by 7,889 to 87,098, while the value traded decreased by Rs0.64 billion to Rs5.58 billion. Overall market capitalisation decreased by Rs56.05 billion. Among scrips, CNERGY topped the volumes with 63.68 million shares, followed by PRL (26.16 million) and GTECH (11.28 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included CNERGY, PRL, GTECH, PAEL and TELE, which formed around 54 percent of total volumes. In terms of rupee, BHAT remained the top gainer and witnessed an increase of Rs67.89 (+4.62 percent) per share, closing at Rs1,537.89. The runner-up remained SAPT, the share price of which climbed up by Rs45.15 (+3.96 percent) to Rs1,185. NESTLE remained the top loser in terms of rupee and witnessed a decrease of Rs49.98 (-0.85 percent) per share, closing at Rs5,800.01, followed by SCL, the share price of which fell by Rs16.84 (-5.94 percent) to close at Rs266.5 per share. The sectors taking the index towards the south were fertilizer (107 points), technology & communication (62 points), cement (40 points), chemical (35 points), and investment banks/ investment companies/ securities companies (33 points). The most points taken off the index were by FFC (83 points), SYS (43 points), DAWH (35 points), EPCL (27 points) and HUBC (26 points). The sectors taking the index towards the north were commercial banks (37 points), refinery (34 points), glass & ceramics (3 points), and tobacco and miscellaneous (one point each). The most points added to the index were by CNERGY (22 points), HMB (19 points), BAHL (10 points), MCB (9 points) and ATRL (7 points).