ASX outage halted company reports for hours in latest snafu

[SYDNEY] A technical outage at ASX has halted company announcements on Australia’s main stock market for several hours on Monday (Dec 1), the latest in a string of mishaps that have heightened regulatory scrutiny of the exchange and fuelled calls for more competition.

ASX has implemented an initial remediation and commenced processing company announcements received since 11.22 am Sydney time, the exchange said in a release on Monday. Earlier statements remain impacted after a blackout that started at 8:59 a.m. Halted securities will only resume trading once an associated announcement has been published, it added.

The glitch follows years of hitches at the ASX, including a botched technology upgrade to its clearing and settlement platform, that’s led to a wide-ranging regulatory probe over failures in governance and risk management practices. Chief executive officer Helen Lofthouse is facing demands for accountability as the company contends with potential competition from rivals.

Stocks affected by Monday’s disruption include Metcash, which reported an earnings report before the market open, but has been halted as its results presentation has not been posted to the exchange.

The delays also come after a 10-hour shutdown on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Friday roiled world markets. The interruption triggered widespread frustration among investors as they found themselves unable to trade contracts tracking the S&P 500 Index and multiple other assets ahead of month-end. The outage stemmed from cooling problems at a crucial data centre in the Chicago area.

Based on available information, ASX does not see Monday’s technical issue with the announcements platform as cyber-related, it said. The problem is not impacting clearing or settlement processes. ASX shares fell as much as 2.9 per cent, the most since Aug 14. BLOOMBERG