The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has announced the resolution of a technical issue that caused trading disruptions for several major stocks, notably leading to Berkshire Hathaway’s price to plummet by 99.97%.
In an update issued on Monday, the NYSE confirmed the reopening of affected stocks, affirming that “all systems are currently operational.”
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of NYSE, has stated that there is no evidence suggesting a cyberattack as the cause of the glitch, according to a senior executive at a major bank in contact with ICE.
An NYSE spokesperson attributed the disruption to a “technical issue” related to industry-wide price bands, resulting in trading halts for up to 40 symbols listed on NYSE Group exchanges.
These price bands, which trigger trading halts, are published by the Consolidated Tape Association’s (CTA) Security Information Processor (SIP). CTA, an industry consortium, is responsible for disseminating real-time trade and quote data.
CTA reported an issue possibly linked to a recent software release. To address the problem, the consortium relied on a secondary data center operating on an older software version.
Earlier in the day, trading for numerous stocks was paused, indicating trading activity beyond specified limit up-limit down bands. Among these stocks were Chipotle and Berkshire Hathaway, led by renowned investor Warren Buffett.
For a duration of nearly two hours, Berkshire Hathaway’s Class A shares were erroneously listed at $185.10, signaling a staggering loss of 99.97%. Berkshire had closed at $627,400 the preceding Friday.
In response to the aberrant trades, NYSE announced the cancellation of all “erroneous” Berkshire trades between 9:50 am ET and 9:51 am ET, occurring at or below $603,718.30. This decision, stated NYSE, is final and not subject to appeal, with the possibility of additional trade cancellations.
“We are monitoring the issue and engaging with market participants,” stated a spokesperson for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
However, some industry experts express skepticism regarding NYSE’s explanation, citing the puzzling nature of the trades.
Trading data from Refinitiv reveals Berkshire Hathaway’s shares transitioning from $620,700 to $185.10 without a discernible cause.
The technical malfunctions appeared contained, with minimal impact on the broader stock market, which trended mostly lower due to economic growth concerns.
Apart from Berkshire, most halted stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced marginal fluctuations.
One notable instance involved Barrick Gold (GOLD), initially trading at just 25 cents — a decrease of 98.5% — before returning to normalcy, trading at $17.28.
Similarly, NuScale Power (SMR), a provider of modular nuclear reactor technology, briefly dipped to 13 cents, down 98.5%, before stabilizing at $8.29 post-reopening, representing a modest decline of 5%.
