The KSE-100 suffered a dramatic fall in the final 60 minutes of trading with analysts saying that an inability to access real-time share prices led to some panic selling after Pakistan saw massive disruption in internet services on Wednesday.
The benchmark index hovered in a narrow range in the morning hours as the market grappled with the increase in oil prices after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran.
However, it was the final hour when panic selling was witnessed amid reports of internet outage and slow connectivity, taking the index deeper into the red.
The index was seen falling from 78,529 to 77,810.16 within minutes, a fall of over 700 points.
Amid low volume, analysts also said the market was having an ‘off-day’ as investors still search for fresh positions.
A PSX official, however, said there was no trading impact due to internet outage, but a senior trader said slow connectivity did hamper the ability to conduct trades.
Another trader said there was selling pressure due to institutional selling, shrugging off concerns over internet connectivity.
At close, the KSE-100 was at 77,886.98, a fall of of 742 points or 0.94%.
Pakistan suffered a severe connectivity issue during the afternoon with users reporting outages and sluggish speeds.
NetBlocks, a watchdog organisation that monitors cybersecurity and the governance of the internet, confirmed that there was a nation-scale disruption to internet connectivity in Pakistan.
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