ASIC delves into reasons behind ASX crash

THE corporate watchdog is looking at how brokers and investors operate on the Australian Securities Exchange following the bourse’s embarrassing crash last month.

The ASX opened late and closed early on September 19, with the technical problem causing trade cancellations.

An initial report prepared by the exchange operator identified hardware failure as the cause of the malfunction.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission said yesterday it had reviewed the initial report from ASX Limited and would review the exchange operator’s report on secondary issues arising from the glitch.

“The purpose of ASIC’s ongoing review is to determine whether there are any changes which could assist the market and market users to function more effectively, should such circumstances recur,’’ the watchdog said. THE iron ore price has edged further above $US55 even as investors sell out of Australia’s major miners after Citi cut its rating on BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto to sell.

Iron ore inched up 0.2 per cent to $US56.60 a tonne overnight on Thursday, according to The Steel Index, from $US56.50 the previous day.

In London trade the same night, BHP shares slumped 4.4 per cent, while Rio fell 4.9 per cent.

Yesterday, Rio shares fell 1 per cent and BHP lost 0.9 per cent. The miners had already dropped in Thursday’s session after Citi warned of looming downside risk following a rally in their share prices on stronger commodity prices.

UBS has also warned traders not to become complacent over the outlook for iron ore.

The key export’s strong run has prompted some analysts to upgrade their near-term forecasts.