Young investors are driving the expansion of Pakistan’s stock market, with people aged 18 to 30 accounting for more than half of all new investor accounts opened at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) in October 2026.

According to data released by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), investors in this age group opened 14,634 accounts during the month, representing 55 percent of total new registrations.

The PSX added 26,843 investor accounts in October, taking its overall investor base beyond 683,000. More than 200,000 investors have entered the stock market during 2026, while small investors accounted for 77 percent of new registrations in October.

The figures point to growing interest in stock market investments among younger Pakistanis and individual investors.

Small Investors Account for Most New Registrations

Men accounted for the majority of new investor accounts in October, opening 22,878 accounts or 85 percent of the total. Women registered 3,923 accounts, representing the remaining 15 percent.

Investors aged between 31 and 45 opened another 9,290 accounts during the month, making them the second-largest age group among new market participants.

The latest registrations also included 801 large-investor accounts and 42 corporate accounts.

The figures show that individual investors continue to drive most of the growth in Pakistan’s stock market, although institutional and larger participants are also joining.

Punjab Leads New Stock Market Investors

Punjab recorded the highest number of new PSX accounts in October, with 14,891 registrations. Sindh followed with 7,643, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa added 1,894 accounts.

Islamabad recorded 1,419 new accounts, followed by Balochistan with 370 and Azad Kashmir with 340. Gilgit-Baltistan added 150 accounts, while overseas investors registered another 136.

Separately, the Pakistan Mercantile Exchange added 1,077 accounts during October, taking its total investor base to 61,915.

The SECP said opening investment accounts at the PSX had become easier and noted that 13 public offerings had taken place in Pakistan’s stock market during 2026.

SECP Sets Target of 2.5 Million Stock Market Investors

SECP Chairman Dr. Kabir Sidhu said the regulator was working to make investment more accessible and secure while protecting investors’ rights.

He stressed that transparency, effective supervision, and investor protection were important for maintaining confidence in the capital market.

The regulator is also running a nationwide awareness campaign to expand Pakistan’s stock market investor base to 2.5 million.

Meanwhile, the KSE-100 Index delivered a return of 43.5 percent during fiscal year 2025-26, according to SECP data.