(10/15/98)
PARIS, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Electronic trading may be cheap, but leaning on the keyboard can be costly.
A mystery plunge in the value of French 10-year bond futures on July 23 was triggered by a bank trader at Salomon Brothers in London who accidentally and repeatedly hit the ``Instant Sell'' button, investigators said on Thursday.
A wave of 145 separate sell orders sent the price diving on electronic screens.
``The disputed trades arose as a result of the prolonged, unintentional and inadvertent operation of the `Instant Sell' key,'' said an investigation by computer software firm Cap Gemini and security group Kroll Associates.
Salomon Brothers declined to comment on any losses.