Pakistan Stock Exchange plunges 3500 points due to increasing risk of showdown with India
Islamabad, Apr 30 (PTI): The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) plunged by more than 3,500 points on Wednesday as uncertainty took hold due to increasing risk of a showdown with India.
Information Minister Atta Tarar said that India was planning military action against Pakistan in 26 to 36 hours, spreading panic in the market.
The market maintained a downward trend throughout the day and finally the index closed at 111,326.57, down by 3,545.61 or 3.09 per cent, from the last close of 114,872.18, according to the data provided by the PSX.
Analysts attributed the plunge to the uncertain security situation after the Pahalgam terrorist attack of April 22 that killed at least 26 people.
The Dawn newspaper reported that Mohammed Sohail, chief executive of Topline Securities, attributed the decline to “news of a likely attack in the next few days”.
Awais Ashraf, director research at AKD Securities, said, “Investors are worried about potential Indian military action against Pakistan, concerns that have intensified following the information minister’s press briefing.”
Yousuf M Farooq, director of research at Chase Securities, echoed the same sentiments. He said that the market was under pressure following the information minister’s “statement last night suggesting that India may take military action within the next 24–36 hours”.
“The market in the short term will most likely follow news flows of Pakistan-India tensions,” he added.
Sana Tawfik, head of research at Arif Habib Limited, also credited the slump primarily on geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan.
Earlier in the day, Information Minister Tarar said that “credible intelligence” reports indicated that India was planning to conduct military action in the next 24 to 36 hours.
His statement came after India gave its military “operational freedom” to respond to the Pahalgam attack.
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Andhra to be developed as knowledge, creator economy hub: CM Naidu
New Delhi/Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said the state is taking steps to transform itself into a knowledge and creator economy hub with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and quantum technology.
He noted that Andhra Pradesh has abundant tech-driven youth and the government is formulating plans to train them in futuristic technologies with support from global technology firms.
"Our goal is to transform Andhra Pradesh into a knowledge hub by focusing on AI, quantum computing, data centres, drone cities and space cities. The youth will remain our biggest asset over the next 25 years, and we seek global partnerships to scale up the creator economy," said Naidu during his interactions at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi.
Naidu, who participated in the summit in the national capital, also held meetings with several global technology leaders and industrialists to explore collaborations in artificial intelligence, clean energy and innovation ecosystems.
He met Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Autodesk AI Head Mike Haley, Aramco India Director Abdul Rehman AiThukair, LEGO Education Vice President Tom Hall, Aadhaar Founder and CTO Srikanth Nadhamuni, Khosla Ventures Managing Partner Vinod Khosla and others at the AP Pavilion.
The chief minister also held discussions with Saudi Aramco representatives on clean energy projects, including solar initiatives, and invited the company to expand operations in Andhra Pradesh, stating that the state is highly suitable for green energy production.
He sought support from NVIDIA Vice President Callista Redmond for establishing AI Living Labs and proposed partnerships through the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub to promote youth innovation, including collaborations with IIT Tirupati and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati under the Andhra Pradesh Future Innovation and Research for Science and Technology (AP FIRST) initiative.
Naidu urged Autodesk leadership to support the development of Global Capability Centres in design engineering and requested the establishment of an Innovation Academy in Amaravati aligned with quantum technology, besides proposing AI and robotics learning labs in partnership with LEGO Education.
He also discussed AI-driven smart governance solutions with Quantela Inc Chairman Sridhar Gadhi, while World Bank Group Digital AI Regional Director Mahesh Uttamchandani met Naidu on the sidelines of the summit.
Following the meetings, Naidu visited various exhibition stalls at the summit, including those of NVIDIA, Tata, Intel and Microsoft, and reviewed AI applications across agriculture, healthcare and industry.
