Pakistan’s stock market added a record 25,747 net new investors in October 2026, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan data shows, as the benchmark KSE-100 fell 2.1 percent and foreign investors sold a net $71.26 million of shares. The previous record, 25,281 in September, lasted exactly one month. Young small investors opening simplified Sahulat accounts led the rush, pushing the total investor base to 681,965. The market fell, trading thinned and foreigners left, yet ordinary Pakistanis queued up to join. Here is who came, why now, and how far the boom still has to run.
A record set while the market fell
October produced 26,843 new account registrations, of which 26,801 were individual and 42 corporate, but the net addition to the investor base was 25,747. The base grew from 463,071 in January to 681,965 by end October, up 218,894 in ten months, or 47.3 percent. October’s intake was 66 percent higher than a year earlier, and the base is 56 percent larger. Finance Minister’s adviser Khurram Schehzad said the ten month addition beats the total added over the previous four years combined.
The market they joined was not rising. The KSE-100 opened October near its September close of 169,969, logged five straight weekly losses, and finished at 166,409.25, down 3,560 points or 2.09 percent. It was the third losing month in four, and the loss since June is 7.71 percent. Market capitalisation shrank from Rs4.78 trillion to Rs4.66 trillion. Average daily volume fell about 22 percent to 471 million shares, traded value fell about 20 percent to $70.1 million, and foreign investors sold a net $71.26 million. The State Bank raised its policy rate to 12 percent on 26 October, citing energy prices and geopolitical uncertainty. Days later, the KSE-100 reclaiming 168,000 on hope rather than a deal became a 3,994.62 point jump on 4 November to 172,013.48. The record crowd bought before the bounce.
The 1,096 accounts that did not count
Registrations and net additions are not the same number. The exchange registered 26,843 new accounts, but the investor base grew by only 25,747. The difference is 1,096 accounts, about 4 in every 100 registrations, that did not translate into a new investor. Some are duplicates, some close quickly, and some never become active. The gap is small, but it sets the honest measure: the record is 25,747 real new investors, not 26,843 registrations. Anyone quoting the bigger number is counting paperwork, not people.
Sahulat did the heavy lifting
Sahulat accounts supplied 20,698 of October’s registrations, or 77 percent. Normal accounts numbered 6,103 and corporate accounts just 42. The simplified route works because the regulator made it easier. The SECP, working with the clearing house, the central depository and the exchange, raised the Sahulat ceiling from Rs1 million to Rs3 million and scrapped duplicate checks for bank and digital onboarding. At the USD to PKR exchange rate today, the new Rs3 million ceiling is worth about $10,842, up from about $3,614. That change, not a rally, explains the timing: the KSE-100 gained 43.5 percent last fiscal year, but October itself fell. The record was set by easier access, not rising prices.
Who the new investors are
The new crowd is young, male and concentrated in Punjab. Investors aged 18 to 30 opened 14,634 accounts, 54.6 percent of the individual total, and those aged 31 to 45 added 9,290, or 34.7 percent. Schehzad put the Gen Z and millennial share at about 85 percent. Men opened 22,878 accounts, 85.4 percent of the total, while women opened 3,923, or 14.6 percent. Punjab recorded 14,891 new accounts, 55.5 percent of all registrations, followed by Sindh with 7,643. Balochistan added 370, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 340, Gilgit-Baltistan 150, abroad 136. The Pakistan Mercantile Exchange added 1,077 accounts in October, taking its total to 61,915. The macro backdrop has steadied too, with SBP rebuilding its reserves to $21.5 billion without new debt, but the boom is narrow, and its geography and gender skew are the weak points.
The 70-month road to 2.5 million
The SECP is running a nationwide awareness campaign behind a 2.5 million target. The arithmetic shows how far it sits. The gap from 681,965 is 1,818,035 investors. At October’s record pace of 25,747 a month, closing it would take about 71 months, close to six years, reaching the target around September 2032. To get there in three years, the monthly pace would have to roughly double to about 50,500. Three tests will show whether the boom lasts: does November hold the pace after the 4 November rally, does the regulator publish the next access reform, and does the gender and provincial gap narrow? The record is real, and so is the distance left to travel. For more business and economy news from Pakistan, follow our coverage.
