PSX Selling: KSE-100 Drops Over 2,200 Points as Profit-Taking Returns

Selling pressure returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday after several sessions of strong buying, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index losing more than 2,200 points during the opening minutes of trading.

At 9:40am, the index stood at 173,146.07 points, down 2,233.79 points, or 1.27%.

“We expect the market to witness some profit-taking today following the recent rally, as investors may prefer to book gains ahead of the long weekend,” Ismail Iqbal Securities said in a post.

The brokerage house added that persistent geopolitical uncertainties and an apparent stalemate in ongoing peace negotiations could weigh on investor sentiment and keep trading cautious.

On the economic front, the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves increased by $39 million to $21.56 billion during the week ended October 30, 2026.

Meanwhile, the World Bank reported that Pakistan’s external debt stock rose 4% to $135.1 billion in 2025. Multilateral and bilateral creditors accounted for the majority of the country’s public and publicly guaranteed external debt.

The decline followed a strong session on Thursday, when the PSX extended its rally as falling international oil prices and improved global risk appetite following the US midterm elections encouraged broad-based buying. The KSE-100 Index gained 3,366.38 points, or 1.96%, to close at 175,379.87.

Global market weakness also added to the cautious mood on Friday. Asian technology-heavy markets suffered steep losses as concerns over increased regulatory scrutiny and a potential slowdown in artificial intelligence investment triggered a sharp sell-off in US equities.

South Korea’s KOSPI fell more than 8%, prompting a circuit breaker, before recovering some ground after trading resumed. It was last down 7%. Japan’s Nikkei dropped 6%, while Taiwan’s market declined more than 8%.

On Wall Street, the Nasdaq plunged 5.5%, while the cost of market protection against volatility surged. Around $3 trillion was wiped off the value of S&P 500 companies as investors assessed the potential impact of the Democrats’ strong performance in the US midterm elections on the artificial intelligence sector.

The political uncertainty has intensified concerns about an AI investment boom already facing questions over whether the enormous sums being spent on the technology will generate sufficient returns.

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Asian chipmakers and data centre equipment suppliers in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan were among the hardest hit. Samsung Electronics fell nearly 10%, while SK Hynix dropped 11.7%. Japan’s Kioxia plunged 14%, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) declined 8.5%.

SoftBank Group, a major investor in artificial intelligence, fell 11%. Meanwhile, the cost of insuring against a SoftBank default climbed to its highest level in four years.

European stock futures also fell 1%, signalling that the global sell-off could extend into European markets.