Technical Glitch Halts Stock Market Opening; Trading Delayed

Regular trading on the stock exchange was delayed this morning following a technical issue tied to the suspension of long-inactive accounts, officials confirmed. Standard market operations finally commenced at 11:00 a.m. after an extended pre-open session.

The disruption stemmed from an operation by the Central Depository System (Pvt) Ltd. (CDS) on June 30, 2026. In accordance with CDS Circular No: 02-06-2026, the depository moved to freeze accounts that had been completely inactive for more than 15 years.

However, during the system update, a glitch inadvertently swept up and suspended a number of fully active trading accounts as well.

The error went unnoticed until the morning’s pre-open session (the Market Auction Call), when traders flagged issues accessing their accounts.

To maintain market integrity, officials chose to freeze the pre-open phase, extending it past its usual window. This extension allowed teams to identify and restore the status of the impacted active accounts before any trades could execute.

“The extension of the pre-open session was necessary to ensure a fair and orderly market,” management noted in an official statement. “We deeply regret the inconvenience caused by the delayed commencement of trading.”