New York Stock Exchange Resumes Trading 3 1/2 Hours After Technical Glitch
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The New York Stock Exchange resumed trading Wednesday afternoon, after a technical glitch caused an outage for 3 1/2 hours.
Officials said there was a major technical problem around 11:32 a.m. with the NYSE system, CBS News business analyst Jill Schlesinger reported. Trading was restarted at 3:10 p.m.
The outage came just two hours after the opening bell, and the NYSE trading floor went quiet. CBS2's Alice Gainer reported.
PHOTOS: Technical Issue Halts Trading On NYSE
"Waiting -- it's a waiting game for us," said NYSE trader Michael Mozian. "I mean. we're not allowed to accept orders."
The New York Stock Exchange posted on Twitter the problem was an internal technical issue and not the result of a cyberattack. The stock exchange also said it elected to suspend trading to avoid other problems.
"There was a change in some coding -- the software that runs some of the systems -- and the exchange began to notice that reports and other information were not going out properly, and they shut down the system," Art Cashin, UBS' director of floor operations at the stock exchange, told 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria.
The Nasdaq and all other exchanges were not impacted, and the halt did not stop trading of NYSE-listed shares altogether.
"Physically on the trading floor, you know, it's a problem, but it's not -- it doesn't prevent people from doing what they need to do," said Ted Weisberg of the Seaport Securities Commission.
New York Stock Exchange Resumes Trading Following Technical Glitch
Trading went on at offices rather than on the floor.
"We just simply trade from our office, which is at 60 Broad St," Weisberg said. "It doesn't impact our customers."
Weisberg emphasized that the glitch was not the end of the world.
"It's happened before. My guess is it certainly will happen again," Weisberg said. "It's just more of an embarrassment, I think, than I think anything else."
As for the markets being affected, Crain's New York Business Senior Reporter Aaron Elstein said there are bigger problems in the world to worry about.
"There are problems with the markets right now with Greece and China," he said. "That's going to happen regardless of what they do with the technical glitch here."
Elstein said he has been covering the NYSE for 20 years, and though he has never seen such a glitch, he said there was no need to panic.
"Nasdaq right now is open. There are lots of markets everywhere that are still open and trading," he said. "So if your money is in stocks, don't worry about it. They'll fix this technical glitch. You, the average person, you don't really have much to worry about."
Meanwhile, a federal law enforcement source also told CBS News' Jeff Pegues all signs pointed to a software glitch as the root of the problems.
The FBI said in a statement: "We've reached out to the NYSE, and offer our assistance. They have said it's a technical glitch. No further law enforcement action is needed at this time. The FBI will continue to monitor this situation."
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said President Barack Obama was briefed on the technical problem by White House counterterrorism and homeland security adviser Lisa Monaco and Chief of Staff Denis McDonough.
"At this point, there is no indication that malicious actors are involved," Earnest said.
Earnest said the NYSE was in close contact with the Department of Homeland Security, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Treasury Department.
He said that despite indications that this was not a cyber-breach, "The administration is keenly aware of the risk that exists in cyber space right now."
The abbreviated trading day ended up being bruising for the markets. The Dow Jones Industrials closed at 17,515.42 – a drop of 261.49. NASDAQ closed at 4,909.76 – down 87.70 – and Standard & Poor's closed a 2,046.69, down 34.65.
The last time the New York Stock Exchange was closed in such a fashion was during Superstorm Sandy in 2012, in an incident that was weather-related. In 2010, the NYSE sustained a "flash crash" as a result of high-frequency trading.
"This, I would suggest to you, was the opposite of the flash crash (in 2010)," Cashin told WCBS 880's Peter Haskell. "Instead of the system running amok and prices being lost and crashing to the ground, no such major disruption occurred.
New York Stock Exchange Resumes Trading Following Technical Glitch
However, Chris, a trader, said he was worried about the potential impact.
"The problem is if you have a customer that executes orders here on this floor and now we tell them, 'Hey, today I can't take your order,' they're going to call another exchange and say, 'Well, that exchange didn't have a problem. Why would I call you back?'" he said.
And whatever the cause of the glitch, the NYSE was not getting into specifics late Wednesday.
"They like to talk about their technology and all that, but this has been closed for a while and whatever this glitch is, it's a big one," Elstein said before trading resumed. "I mean, they say it wasn't a hack – that's good news. On the other hand, if it wasn't a hack, what was it that caused this?"
Technical issues also plagued The Wall Street Journal's website and United Airlines on Wednesday.
Visitors to WSJ.com saw an error message reading "Oops, 504! Something did not respond fast enough, that's all we know..." Shortly later, a limited website appeared that included a message saying "WSJ.com is having technical difficulties. The full site will return shortly."
Meanwhile, the computer glitch at United grounded flights nationwide for about two hours.
Law enforcement sources said they do not see a connection between the NYSE, United and Wall Street Journal incidents, calling it a coincidence.
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