The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) consolidated around the 180,000-point level on Wednesday after an early rally pushed the benchmark KSE-100 index to an intraday high of 180,769, before profit-taking in heavyweight stocks erased the gains and dragged the index over 250 points lower to around 179,880. The market opened on a positive note, extending the previous session’s bullish momentum and reaching an intraday high of 180,769 (+1,434 points; +0.80%), a level last seen on August 18. However, the upward momentum proved unsustainable as profit-taking emerged around the 180k level. The index subsequently retreated before staging a partial recovery, with selling pressure intensifying towards the close, said Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd. On the sectoral front, cement stocks extended their gains amid optimism surrounding the Punjab cement royalty case, with the Federal Constitutional Court expected to announce its verdict next week. "The street is expecting a favourable outcome for cement manufacturers," he added. Also Read: PSX roars back after long weekend as KSE-100 jumps 5,449 points On the corporate front, Thatta Cement (+5.2%) informed the PSX that it had entered into a definitive agreement with Fauji Foundation for the restructuring of PSEL. From the index contribution perspective, PSO, PSEL, EFERT, FABL and SYS emerged as the top five positive contributors, collectively adding approximately 290 points. Conversely, UBL, MEBL, LUCK, NBP and FCCL collectively eroded 428 points from the benchmark index, reflecting profit-taking in key heavyweights. Market activity remained robust, with trading volume reaching 1.24 billion shares and total traded value amounting to Rs41.7 billion. WTL led the volume chart with 231 million shares traded. Going forward, market may maintain its positive bias, supported by improving investor sentiment and continued strength in cement stocks amid expectations of a favourable royalty verdict. However, profit-taking near the 180k level may trigger intermittent volatility. Selective buying is likely to remain the preferred strategy.