An empty brokerage house during trading hours

Since reaching a peak on 16 March, Pakistani stocks have remained highly volatile, with the trend mainly down.

The market has shed over 700 points in the past three trading sessions, although that includes a rally on Wednesday that saw a 184-point gain.

Despite that upswing, brokers say "everyone is running scared".

"Small and medium investors have been particularly badly hit," says Tarik Hashmi, a trader at one of Karachi's leading brokerage houses.

"I have never seen so many people quitting the market in such a short period of time."

Blue chips

Brokers at the Karachi stock exchange say fears of a total collapse are running so high at present that even the slightest unexpected development sends the index tumbling.

On Tuesday, the central reserve bank's decision to raise interest rates by 1.5% sent the market crashing.

Worried traders watch the stocks take yet another tumble

Trading in a large majority of the blue chips was suspended for the day within the first 30 minutes.

Regulatory authorities require trading in any stock to be suspended if it loses 6% of its value in a single session - a measure aimed at preventing the market from becoming too volatile.

But it could do little to stop a market that has been falling since 17 March.

Investors continue to criticise the government for not doing enough to protect small and medium investors from big players they say are manipulating the market.

Officials at the Securities and Exchange Commission - the main regulatory authority monitoring the bourses' performance - say they are looking into allegations of manipulation.

But few of those who have lost heavily in the crash have any confidence left in the authorities.