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London Exchange Is Delayed by Technical Problem London Stock Exchange Delays Opening After Technical Problem
(about 1 hour later)
LONDON — The opening of markets in London was delayed on Friday as the London Stock Exchange struggled with a technical issue, a representative of the exchange said. Trading, which should have started at 8 a.m., was pushed until 9:40 a.m. as the exchange tried to determine the cause of the problem. LONDON — Traders who have been frantically following market swerves, tied to the ongoing trade war and a broad economic slowdown, had an unexpected respite on Friday.
The company said that it could not provide a comprehensive list of securities that were affected, but that trading was affected on the FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250, as well as some other securities. The London Stock Exchange did not move. For about an hour and 40 minutes.
On its system notice board, the exchange advised traders who received rejection messages to log out of their trading sessions and log back in. One of the world’s oldest exchanges was unable to handle trades at its scheduled open time and administrators scrabbled to reassure investors. Trading should have started at 8 a.m. but it was not fully operational until 9:40 a.m. because of a “technical software issue,” the exchange said in a statement.
The London Stock Exchange group’s parent company is in the process of broadening its remit from stock exchanges to financial data. Two weeks ago, the London Stock Exchange Group agreed to buy Refinitiv, a provider of financial data, for about $27 billion, including debt. The acquisition is aimed at putting the group in competition with data giants like Bloomberg. The company said it could not provide a comprehensive list of securities that were affected, but added that trading was delayed on two important indexes, the FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250, as well as some other securities. Shares in the London Stock Exchange Group were up 1.5 percent by late morning.
Shares in the London Stock Exchange Group were up 1.1 percent by midmorning. On its system notice board, the exchange offered advice that will be familiar — or perhaps maddening — to anyone who has suffered from I.T. issues before: log out and log back in again.
The trading problem on Friday occurred during a difficult week for global markets, which have whipsawed in reaction to the ongoing trade war between the United States and China. Stocks swerved up and down on Thursday as China sent conflicting signs about how it would respond to threats of tariffs from President Trump. Problems like this are not unknown. Several exchanges, including London’s, had outages blamed on technical glitches last year.
Poor economic data has also weighed on stocks, prompting investors to flee toward safer government debt, pushing down yields on Treasuries. Still, the timing was unfortunate. The London Stock Exchange group’s parent company is in the process of broadening its remit from stock exchanges to financial data. Two weeks ago, the London Stock Exchange Group agreed to buy Refinitiv, a provider of financial data, for about $27 billion, including debt. The acquisition is aimed at putting the group in competition with data giants like Bloomberg.
Across Europe on Friday, markets looked relatively calm after the volatility of the day before. The FTSE 100 in London was up 0.6 percent. The Dax in Germany was up 0.9 percent midmorning and the CAC 40 in France was up about 0.8 percent. The trading problem on Friday also occurred during a turbulent week for global markets, which have whipsawed in reaction to the trade war between the United States and China. Stocks were up and down on Thursday as China sent conflicting signs about how it would respond to threats of tariffs from President Trump.
In Asia, the Nikkei 225 was up slightly at 0.06 percent, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.9 percent. The prospect of weaker global growth has also weighed on stocks, prompting investors to flee toward safer government debt, pushing down yields on Treasuries.
After a day of nervous trading, markets in the United States closed with modest gains on Thursday and looked set to open higher on Friday.
Across Europe on Friday, markets looked relatively calm after the volatility of the day before. The FTSE 100 in London was up 0.7 percent by late morning. The Dax in Germany was up 0.8 percent midmorning and the CAC 40 in France was up about 0.9 percent.
In Asia, the Nikkei 225 closed slightly higher, up 0.06 percent, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.9 percent.