Glitch appears to make tech stocks go nuts

Investigating the improper use of test data by third parties: Nasdaq

New York, July 4: The prices of several big-name Nasdaq-listed stocks appeared on some websites to either spike or plummet well after the closing bell on Monday, seemingly due to a glitch related to the market data that runs the largely automated markets.

At around 6:30 pm, the prices of Amazon and Microsoft stocks appeared to have lost more than half their value, while Apple Inc shares appeared to more than double.

Google parent Alphabet and eBay shares were among others that all appeared to be priced at $123.47 on some financial news websites on Monday evening. The actual prices of the stocks were not affected and no trades were completed at that price, a Nasdaq spokesman confirmed.

Nasdaq said in a statement it was investigating the improper use of test data distributed by third parties. Prices on Nasdaq's website were not affected.

Nasdaq and other US stock exchanges closed early on Monday ahead of the US Independence Day holiday on Tuesday.

Testing of stock exchange software is mandated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and happens on a regular basis to help prevent electronic glitches, often using test symbols and historical data.

The issue, where some vendors used test figures as live figures, was replicated across major financial websites, including Bloomberg, Google Finance, and Yahoo Finance, and it’s not known when it all started. The changed prices did not reflect on the Nasdaq website.

While the prices of Amazon and Microsoft stocks plummeted by more than 50 per cent, Apple’s shares rose 348 per cent higher. Shares of online games group Zynga rocketed 3,000 per cent, while Facebook’s remained unaffected.

The data glitch also reset the share prices of Amazon, Apple and Microsoft to exactly $123.47.

The market value of Bed Bath & Beyond rose from about $4.4 billion to $17.9 billion. — Agencies