PSX vs NYSE (2023 to 2026): A Detailed Performance Comparison

Between the end of 2022 and October 2026, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) and US markets had very different experiences. The KSE-100 more than quadrupled in rupee terms, while US indices posted solid but far more modest gains. Raw returns, though, are only half the story. This post compares the two markets year by year, converts the results into a common currency, and looks at the risk that came with those returns.

A Quick Note on What “NYSE” Means Here

The New York Stock Exchange has its own broad index, the NYSE Composite, which tracks all common stocks listed on the NYSE. Most people, however, use the S&P 500 as the stand-in for “the US market.” The S&P 500 holds large companies listed on both the NYSE and Nasdaq, so it is not a pure NYSE measure. This post shows both, so you can see the NYSE Composite directly and the S&P 500 as the broader benchmark most investors actually buy through ETFs.

Year-End Levels and Annual Returns

Year	KSE-100 close	KSE-100 change (PKR)	NYSE Composite close	NYSE Composite change	S&P 500 total return
2022	40,420	-9.36%	15,184	-11.53%	-18.11%
2023	62,451	+54.50%	16,853	+10.99%	+26.29%
2024	115,127	+84.35%	19,097	+13.32%	+25.02%
2025	174,054	+51.18%	22,004	+15.22%	+17.88%
2026 (to mid-Oct)	about 167,442 (8 Oct)	about -3.8%	closing high of 24,075 on 6 July	n/a	about +13.7% (to 14 Oct)

Notes on this table:

• KSE-100 figures are index (price) changes and exclude dividends, which are a meaningful extra return on PSX. Topline Securities, for example, put the 2025 return at 48% including dividends for the period it measured.
• The S&P 500 figures are total returns (dividends reinvested). On a price-only basis, the S&P 500 gained roughly 24.2% in 2023, 23.3% in 2024, and 16.4% in 2025, with a 2025 year-end close of 6,845.50.
• The 2026 S&P 500 figure is year to date through 14 October 2026, measured through the SPY ETF: about +12.9% on price alone and about +13.7% with dividends.
• I could not confirm a current NYSE Composite level for October 2026, so the table shows its most recent verified figure, the record close in July 2026.

Cumulative Performance: End of 2022 to End of 2025

Compounding the annual figures above:

• KSE-100 (PKR, price only): 40,420 to 174,054, a gain of about 331%
• S&P 500 (total return): about +86%
• NYSE Composite (price): 15,184 to 22,004, a gain of about 45%

In rupee terms, PSX outperformed US markets by a very wide margin over this period. But that comparison flatters PSX, because the rupee lost a lot of value in 2023.

Adjusting for the Rupee: Returns in US Dollars

A Pakistani investor earns in PKR, but a global investor measures returns in USD. Converting the KSE-100 into dollars shows how much currency movement mattered.

Approximate year-end USD/PKR rates used here: about 226 (end 2022), about 282 (end 2023), 278.5 (end 2024), and 279.9 (end 2025). The 2024 and 2025 rates are from published exchange rate histories. The 2022 and 2023 rates are approximate year-end interbank levels and should be treated as rounded.

Year	KSE-100 (PKR)	PKR move vs USD	KSE-100 (USD, approx.)	S&P 500 (USD, total return)
2023	+54.5%	about 25% weaker	about +24%	+26.3%
2024	+84.4%	about 1% stronger	about +87%	+25.0%
2025	+51.2%	about 0.5% weaker	about +50%	+17.9%
2026 to date	about -3.8%	about 1.1% stronger	about -3%	about +13.7%

What this shows:

• 2023 was a near tie in dollar terms. The KSE-100’s 54.5% rupee gain shrank to roughly 24% in dollars because the rupee fell sharply, landing close to the S&P 500’s 26%.
• 2024 and 2025 were where PSX pulled ahead. With the rupee stable, nearly all of the rupee gains carried through to dollars.
• Cumulative dollar return, end 2022 to end 2025: roughly +248% for the KSE-100, which lines up with the figure of about 249% reported over the same three years by Pakistani market commentary. The S&P 500’s total return over the same stretch was roughly +86%.
• 2026 reversed the pattern. Through mid-October 2026, the KSE-100 is slightly negative while the S&P 500 is up in the low teens.

What Drove PSX

• 2023: A recovery from a very low base. The market had fallen in 2022 amid a balance-of-payments crisis, and 2023 saw the IMF stand-by arrangement and some stabilization, which fueled a rebound.
• 2024: An exceptional rally of 84%, widely attributed to falling inflation, aggressive State Bank of Pakistan rate cuts, an improving external position, and very cheap starting valuations. This was among the best-performing markets in the world that year.
• 2025: Another strong year, with the index reaching record highs by year-end.
• 2026: The year began near record levels (the KSE-100 closed 2025 at about 174,000) but has been choppier. The sharpest event was 2 March 2026, when the index fell 9.57% (16,089 points) to 151,973 in a single day, the largest one-day point drop in its history. Reports tied the selloff to regional instability after a US-Israeli attack on Iran and Iranian retaliation in the Gulf, layered on domestic concerns. Trading was halted under circuit-breaker rules at about 9:22 am, resumed at 10:30 am, and the index still closed sharply lower. By early October the index had recovered to about 167,400, still around 3.8% below where the year began.

What Drove US Markets

• 2023: A rebound from the 2022 bear market, led by large technology companies and optimism around artificial intelligence, even as the Federal Reserve held rates high.
• 2024: A second year of strong gains, again concentrated in mega-cap technology.
• 2025: Solid gains of about 17.9% total return despite a sharp tariff-driven selloff in the spring, with the S&P 500 finishing the year at 6,845.50.
• 2026: New record highs, with the S&P 500 passing 7,800 in early October, though recent coverage has also pointed to rising Treasury yields and investors rotating away from the AI trade, a reminder that gains are not smooth.

Risk: The Cost of PSX’s Higher Returns

PSX’s outperformance came with much sharper swings:

• A 9.57% one-day drop on 2 March 2026 has no real equivalent in the US data above, where the worst annual decline in this window was the 2022 bear market.
• PSX was down 9.36% in 2022, then up 54.5% and 84.4% in the following two years. Swings of that size in both directions are typical of frontier and emerging markets.
• PSX returns depend heavily on the rupee, inflation, interest rates, IMF programs, and regional politics. US returns depend more on corporate earnings, the Federal Reserve, and global risk appetite.

Past rallies also do not repeat on schedule. A market that has more than quadrupled is no longer starting from the extremely cheap valuations that helped 2023 and 2024, so assuming similar returns going forward would be a mistake.

Other Differences That Matter to Investors

Factor	PSX	NYSE / US markets
Currency	PKR, with depreciation risk	USD, a global reserve currency
Dividends	Historically higher yields, especially banks and energy	Generally lower yields, more reinvestment into growth
Liquidity	Deep in the top 30 to 50 names, thin beyond	Very deep across thousands of names and ETFs
Trading hours	Daytime in Pakistan	Evening/night in Pakistan (US Eastern Time)
Access from Pakistan	Local brokers, simple CDC accounts	International brokers, outward remittance rules, US tax forms
Concentration	Banks, energy, fertilizer, cement	Heavily weighted to large technology companies

What This Means for a Pakistani Investor

• Using one market as a hedge for the other: PSX and US markets respond to different drivers, so holding both has historically reduced overall portfolio swings. US holdings also protect against rupee depreciation.
• Do not judge by the last three years alone. The 2023 to 2025 gap in favor of PSX was driven by a rare combination of cheap starting valuations, falling rates, and a stable rupee. Neither market’s recent performance guarantees future results.
• Consider costs and rules on the US side. Funding a US brokerage account from Pakistan involves State Bank of Pakistan remittance rules, broker fees, and US tax forms such as W-8BEN. See our guide on how Pakistani citizens can trade on the NYSE for the practical steps.
• This is not investment advice. Decide based on your goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance, and consider speaking with a licensed adviser.

Final Thoughts

From 2023 through 2025, PSX was one of the world’s standout markets, with a rupee gain of roughly 331% and a dollar gain of roughly 248%, far ahead of the S&P 500’s roughly 86% total return and the NYSE Composite’s roughly 45%. In 2026, the picture has flipped for now: US indices have hit new records while PSX has been held back by a violent March selloff and a partial recovery. Seen together, the two markets show the trade-off clearly. PSX has offered higher potential returns with larger and sometimes sudden drops, while US markets have offered steadier, currency-stable growth.

Sources: KSE 100 Index, Wikipedia, NYSE Composite, Wikipedia, KSE-100 soars 84% in CY24, Geo News, PSX returns 2025, Nukta, Panic selling or planned panic? PSX plunges 9.57%, Profit by Pakistan Today, KSE-100 closes at 167,442 on 8 October 2026, Pakera, S&P 500 market attributes, December 2025, S&P Dow Jones Indices, S&P 500 annual returns, Motley Fool, S&P 500 YTD, ChartRow, USD/PKR 2026 history, Pound Sterling Live, USD/PKR 2024 history, ValutaFX