PSX: KSE-100 ends in red after late sell-off

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Key takeaways

The Pakistan Stock Exchange KSE-100 Index dropped 784.18 points to close at 166,409.25.
Pakistan's finance ministry projected October 2026 inflation between 9.5% and 10.5%.
Global tech shares slumped as concerns over AI spending returns weighed on international markets.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a volatile trading session on Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index eventually closing in the red as selling pressure intensified during the second half of the session.

The benchmark initially experienced sharp fluctuations, dropping from higher levels before recovering some of its losses and moving within a relatively narrow range around the 167,000-point level during the first half of the session.

However, the market failed to sustain its recovery. Selling pressure strengthened in the latter half, triggering a noticeable downward movement, particularly towards the closing hours. Although the index attempted a minor recovery near the end, it remained under pressure and closed close to its intraday low of 166,326.69.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 166,409.25 points, shedding 784.18 points or 0.47%.

Economic updates and international markets

Pakistan’s finance ministry projected inflation in the range of 9.5% to 10.5% for the outgoing month of October 2026 amid elevated energy and food prices in the country, in line with global trends.

On Thursday, PSX extended its recovery as optimism over potential Middle East peace talks supported buying, despite continued uncertainty after an Iranian official reportedly rejected a proposed deal to end the US-Israel war. The KSE-100 Index advanced by 1,456.68 points, or 0.88%, to close at 167,193.44 points.

Internationally, tech shares slumped in Asia on Friday, the yen rose, and bonds surged toward their biggest monthly gain in nearly three years as investors scurried to safety against worries that huge and rising AI spending may not deliver sufficient returns.

Shares in Google parent Alphabet fell 12.6% on Wall Street and slid a little further after hours, to wipe out a withering $500 billion in market value, as massive AI spending turned the company’s cash flow negative.

Global tech sell-off and exchange nerves

An aftermarket plunge of 23% in Intel shares and a drop of 7% in Amazon stocks, as they too burn through cash, drove Nasdaq 100 futures down 1.4% and sent stocks of chipmakers around Asia into a tailspin.

Nerves were also frayed by a potentially record-breaking hack at Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, which drove down bitcoin, other cryptocurrency prices and stocks including rival exchange Coinbase.

South Korea’s KOSPI slumped 5% for an October fall of more than 17%. Japan’s Nikkei fell 3%.

In China, the blue chip CSI300 headed for its largest monthly fall in a decade, after nearly four months of AI stocks tanking on fears that a slowdown in demand for chips and other data centre equipment could crush revenues.

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