Stock exchange trading halted due to technical glitch
By Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte, Reporter
THE PHILIPPINE Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) canceled trading on Tuesday due to technical problems in the local bourse’s trading engine.
“We are sorry about this unfortunate incident and we are exerting all efforts to resolve the problem,” PSE President Ramon S. Monzon said in a statement on Tuesday.
The exchange said a third of the participants encountered issues in establishing a connection between the trading engine and the Flextrade front-end system.
“Among the 125 trading participants of the PSE, 43 are unable to connect to the Exchange’s trading engine,” Mr. Monzon said in an advisory.
The PSE’s Revised Trading Rules provide that the exchange may halt trading if at least a third of its users cannot access the trading system.
Trading participants were informed of a delayed pre-open period Tuesday morning. All queued orders from 3:01 p.m. on Monday to those posted until 9:05 a.m. on Tuesday were said to be canceled by the PSE.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the PSE had not announced when trading at the local bourse would resume.
However, it said it is working to address the “technical problems.”
“[The] PSE continues to work and coordinate closely with representatives of NASDAQ and Flextrade to identify the underlying cause of the above-described production issue and come up with the appropriate solution,” Mr. Monzon said.
“It might affect potential traders looking to participate in the local bourse, but prefer markets (overseas) that experience less issues,” Timson Securities, Inc. Trader Darren Blaine T. Pangan said in a Viber message.
Meanwhile, Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said the PSE’s technical glitch would have little impact on market sentiment.
“The performance of companies and their profitability are mutually exclusive from the trading platform so expect minimal impact in investor confidence,” Mr. Limlingan said in a separate Viber message.
On Monday, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index declined by 81.36 points or 1.14% to close at 7,041.27. Meanwhile, the broader all shares index went down 40.22 points or 1.05% to end at 3,777.90.
