Pakistan celebrates Independence Day: Here's how its stock market performed in last one year
Pakistan celebrates its 79th Independence Day as the KSE-100 index delivers a 23% return over the past year despite geopolitical tensions and market volatility. From a record high in January, the index has slipped around 6%. Meanwhile, younger investors are increasingly entering Pakistan’s stock market, boosting participation and account openings.
Pakistan is celebrating its 80th Independence Day today, marking a volatile year for its stock market amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Afghanistan. Despite the turmoil, the KSE-100 index has delivered a 23% return over the past year. The index closed slightly lower at approximately 1,80,105 points on the day of the holiday, down about 6% since its January 2026 peak of 1,91,033 points.
This year, the US has threatened to maintain an indefinite naval blockade on Iran following a weakened outlook for global oil demand. Meanwhile, Iran has continued to block the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil transit route, raising concerns over fuel prices and escalating tensions between the US and Iran. Pakistan's younger generation, making up 41% of new accounts opened on the stock market in fiscal year 2025-26, has shown significant interest in investing despite the country's low investment levels compared to its neighbors.
The PSX has been one of the top-performing stock exchanges in the region despite the ongoing Middle East conflict, though it still lags behind India and Bangladesh in terms of investment participation from the total population.
Written by urgent.news from The Economic Times - Top News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
