A technology breakdown at a major trading firm roiled the prices of 140 stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, undermining fragile investor confidence in the stability of U.S. stock markets.
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The exact nature of the technology issues were unclear…Knight’s stock plunged nearly 33 percent to $6.94, a nine-year closing low for the stock.
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Heavy buy orders in some stocks sent prices soaring, while others plunged. Many of the names were lesser-known issues such as Molycorp Inc (MCP.N), a stock that usually averages about 2.65 million shares daily but which saw volume of more than 5.7 million shares in the first 45 minutes of trading, bouncing between $17.50 and $14.35 in that period.
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For Knight investors, the trading glitch will be hard to shake off. “The fact that Knight told people to go trade somewhere else is I am sure unprecedented in the industry,” said Dave Nadig, director of research at IndexUniverse, which researches ETFs.
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The NYSE said in the afternoon that it would cancel trades in six different stocks…No trades in any of the other affected stocks will be canceled, the NYSE said later.
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