NYSE resolves glitch that led to volatility pause for dozens of stocks

(Reuters) – NYSE Equities said on Monday it had resolved a reported technical issue regarding Limit Up-Limit Down bands that sent dozens of stocks, including Berkshire Hathaway and Chipotle Mexican Grill, into volatility pauses.

The impacted stocks have since reopened or are in the process of reopening and the price bands issue has been resolved, the NYSE said.

The LULD mechanism is meant to prevent extraordinary market volatility and extreme price movements in individual securities. It prevents trading from occurring outside of specific price bands that are continuously updated throughout the trading day.

The price bands for each security are set at a percentage level above and below the average reference price of the security over the immediately preceding five-minute period.

Several stocks listed on the NYSE, such as and Barrick Gold, among others, were halted for volatility.

Some stocks showed unusual outsized movements. Berkshire Hathaway and Barrick Gold shares were shown to be down 99.97% and 98.54%, respectively, due to the technical issue.

“It’s erroneous trade reports and will get taken from the tape,” Joe Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading, said. “It’s somebody having a glitch whether its the exchange or a market maker.”

Technical issues on exchanges can hit markets, impact traders’ confidence and attract scrutiny from the U.S. securities regulator.

The NYSE did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru and Sinéad Carew in New York; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)