Global tech rout casts a shadow over Pakistan's stock market rally

Pakistan’s KSE-100 was down 1,494.09 points, or 0.85%, at 173,885.77 around noon on Friday, after falling more than 2,500 points to 172,809.89 earlier in the session. Profit by Pakistan Today reported that selling followed Thursday’s 3,366.38-point advance, as investors took gains ahead of a long weekend.

Analysts cited profit-taking, geopolitical uncertainty and limited progress in peace talks among the pressures on local shares. The decline coincided with a sharp global retreat in technology stocks, amid worries that tighter oversight of artificial intelligence could restrain investment in infrastructure such as data centres. The Nasdaq fell 5.5%, while Japan’s Nikkei lost 6%; Brent crude rose 1.31% to $99.58 a barrel in early trading.