Philippines' stock exchange cancels trading on technical glitch

[MANILA] The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Tuesday (Jan 4) cancelled trading because of a technical glitch at the start of the session.

The stock exchange operator said in an advisory that 43 of 125 brokerage firms registered with it could not connect to the bourse's trading engine. Under the bourse operator's rules, it can halt trading if a third of brokerage firms cannot access the system.

The Philippines' broader index fell 1.4 per cent on Monday (Jan 3), marking the bourse's worst opening since 2016, weighed down by rising Covid-19 infections that has prompted the government to tighten curbs.

There were technical problems in establishing connection between the Nasdaq trading engine and the Flextrade front-end system, the PSE said, adding that it is working with relevant parties to identify the cause of the glitch. It did not give a timeline when the issue will be resolved.

Nasdaq did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"We don't know when the glitch will be fixed since we're all in the same boat here, just waiting for more updates," Corenne Agravio, senior equity analyst at Regina Capital Development in Manila, told Reuters.

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"There could be a knee-jerk negative reaction as investors rush to unload shares amid the surge in Covid-19 cases, but that won't be a reflection of the bourse's technical issues."

REUTERS