Glitch prompts questions for ASX approach to informing the market

The ASX took more than three hours to inform stockbrokers and investors that a computer glitch had knocked out its critical market announcements feed in October last year, a new investigation shows.

By InvestSMART · 24 May 2013

By InvestSMART ·
24 May 2013

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The ASX took more than three hours to inform stockbrokers and investors that a computer glitch had knocked out its critical market announcements feed in October last year, a new investigation shows.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission report also questions why the ASX informed some market participants of the glitch before others.

On October 12, the ASX's markets announcement platform shut down between 12.11pm and 3.55pm. This outage prevented the stock exchange from processing or releasing new announcements to the broader market from companies listed on the exchange.

During that period, 112 announcements were submitted to the stock exchange, 23 of which contained price-sensitive information. The ASX froze buy and sell orders on those 23 stocks. The problem was not fixed until after the market had closed.

"While we are satisfied about ASX Group's operational response to this issue, we question the approach it took to keeping all market users adequately informed," the report, released on Thursday, said.

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Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…

What exactly was the ASX glitch that disrupted the market announcements feed?

On October 12 the ASX's markets announcement platform shut down between 12:11pm and 3:55pm, preventing the exchange from processing or releasing new company announcements to the broader market.

How long did it take the ASX to tell brokers and investors about the outage?

The ASX took more than three hours to inform stockbrokers and investors that a computer glitch had knocked out its critical market announcements feed that day.

How many announcements were submitted during the ASX outage and were any price-sensitive?

During the outage 112 announcements were submitted to the ASX, and 23 of those contained price-sensitive information.

What action did the ASX take on stocks with price-sensitive announcements during the outage?

The ASX froze buy and sell orders on the 23 stocks that had price-sensitive announcements submitted while the markets announcement platform was down.

Did the ASX fix the problem before the market closed?

No. The problem was not fixed until after the market had closed on October 12.

What did the ASIC report say about how the ASX handled communications during the glitch?

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission said it was satisfied with the ASX Group's operational response but questioned the approach the exchange took to keeping all market users adequately informed, noting some participants were told before others.

What does this outage mean for everyday investors relying on market announcements?

The outage meant some investors and brokers did not receive market announcements in real time, and trading on affected stocks was frozen, which could disrupt normal trading and information flow until the issue was resolved.

Where should investors look for reliable updates if a future ASX announcements feed failure happens?

Investors should monitor official ASX notices and communications from their stockbroker for updates, and check company announcements once the platform is restored to confirm any price‑sensitive information submitted during an outage.