Hi-tech Nasdaq shuts down

A tech glitch on Thursday shut down trade on the Nasdaq for more than three hours, freezing prices on big technology stocks like Apple, Google and Facebook as well as the value of the Nasdaq index.

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People walk past the NASDAQ MarketSite in Times Square on August 22, 2013 in New York City. AFP

Tech glitch halts Nasdaq trade for three hours

NEW YORK, AFP — An unexplained technology glitch on Thursday shut down trade on the Nasdaq for more than three hours, freezing prices on big technology stocks like Apple, Google and Facebook as well as the value of the Nasdaq index.

The halt was unprecedented for the second-largest US stock exchange.

Nasdaq OMX, the operator of the tech-rich Nasdaq Stock Market, halted trade around 12:15 pm.

The suspension came on the heels of other recent problems with electronic trading processes and could lead to tighter regulations on exchanges.

The Nasdaq Composite Index rose one percent in spite of the debacle, but analysts said such a mishap could have serious consequences for markets during busier news periods.

"Any time you see this kind of thing, it always brings the question of market integrity," said Michael Gayed, chief investment strategist at Pension Partners.

"Whenever you have a technical glitch, it is not comforting for people to put their money in."

Full trading resumed around 3:25 pm.

Nasdaq said it had resolved the technical issues in the first 30 minutes, but spent the remainder of the time coordinating with other exchanges, market participants and regulators organising the resumption of trade.

The shutdown came on a quiet day for Nasdaq, with no major economic news events or earnings from major Nasdaq companies.

Because other exchanges could not see price quotes from Nasdaq, those that trade Nasdaq-listed stocks, such as the New York Stock Exchange, could not continue to trade Nasdaq stocks.