A technical issue caused a temporary halt in trading for dozens of stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, with at least one stock seeing a significant price drop before quickly recovering. Berkshire Hathaway, led by Warren Buffett, saw its A-class shares plunge nearly 100% before trading was halted. After trading resumed, the shares quickly rebounded.
The New York Stock Exchange stated that a technical issue related to pricing data triggered trading halts for around 40 ticker symbols listed on NYSE Group exchanges. The issue was resolved by midday, and the NYSE is reviewing potentially impacted trades. The issue was related to information published by the Consolidated Trade Association, which provides price ranges that can halt trading if breached.
Forty ticker symbols were listed as potentially impacted by erroneous price bands due to a software release. These included Berkshire Hathaway's Class-A shares, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and Bank of Montreal. This glitch comes on the heels of another recent issue that prevented the real-time pricing of the S&P 500 index for over an hour.
The stock market recently moved to a new system where stock trades settle much faster than before, now requiring settlement in one business day instead of two. This change was suggested by the Securities and Exchange Commission following the "meme-stock" craze in early 2021, which caused strain on the market and led to some brokerages restricting buying of certain stocks, causing frustration among customers.
Overall, these recent technical issues highlight the challenges of maintaining a smooth and efficient stock market system in the face of evolving technologies and market conditions. The review and resolution of these issues will be crucial in ensuring the integrity and stability of the stock market moving forward.