-99% ?? No, it’s a bug

(Boursier.com) — The New York Stock Exchange indicated that it would cancel erroneous transactions resulting from a technical problem that led to several dozen price suspensions on securities listed in the United States yesterday. “The Class A stock of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway firm appeared to plunge 99% Monday morning before a trading suspension – which prevents trading activity on securities listed at prices outside a certain range – had not been initiated”, notes the Financial Times. The FT indicates that LSEG data recorded transactions at a price of…$185.1 per security, compared to a previous price of $621,484! Unfortunately for the lucky buyers of almost free Berkshire shares, the NYSE therefore indicated after the close of markets last night that all transactions at prices equal to or lower than $603,718.3 would be canceled…

Berkshire Class A shares finally ended the day yesterday at $631,110.1, up 0.6%.

The Financial Times reports that yesterday’s trading suspensions began shortly after markets opened. The NYSE said the issue had been resolved and all securities had resumed trading at noon local time. The New York Stock Exchange deplored “a technical problem regarding the price bands” of the CTA, Consolidated Tape Association, an association of major marketplaces managing the dissemination of trading data between different platforms. The CTA also manages part of the SIP, which processes and consolidates the data.

The FT indicates that the CTA for its part raised the possibility that these problems were linked to a software development implemented during the weekend.

Berkshire was yesterday the most emblematic title affected by these bugs, but files such as Chipotle Mexican Grill And Barrick Gold were also affected. The Financial Times observes that according to Bloomberg data, several transactions were noted on the Barrick mining group at a price of… 25 cents, compared to $17 previously. Obviously, these outrageously discounted transactions will also be canceled by the NYSE. The FT finally specifies that the majority of securities resumed their trading normally after an hour yesterday, while it took longer for Berkshire.