Tokyo Stock Exchange Halts Trade on Order Overload (Update6) Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) -- The Tokyo Stock Exchange halted trading for just the second time in its 56-year history after a surge in orders overloaded computer systems.
Trading on the world's second-largest exchange stopped at 2:40 p.m. in Tokyo, 20 minutes before the regular close. The bourse, which replaced its president last month after two computer breakdowns, said it may shorten trading hours tomorrow. ``It's very shameful,'' said Makoto Haga, who helps oversee $1.8 billion of Japanese securities as a fund manager at STB Asset Management Co. ``Where has high-tech-Japan gone?'' The trading halt undermined confidence in a market already roiled by allegations Internet company Livedoor Co. violated securities laws. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average tumbled 2.9 percent to 15,341.18, extending a rout this week that wiped more than $300 billion off the nation's market value. The exchange halted trading after processing 4 million orders, the maximum it can handle. It earlier asked brokerages to combine orders from different clients to reduce the number of transactions. ``I'm speechless,'' said Yuuki Sakurai, a general manager at Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Co., which manages about $4 billion in assets. ``What can you say when you can't trust a company's statements or the exchange's trading system.'' Tokyo prosecutors raided Livedoor two days ago on allegations an online advertising affiliate tried to manipulate its stock price. Livedoor, founded by 33-year-old Takafumi Horie, bought 20 companies since 2000 and last year made a hostile bid for a unit of Fuji Television Network Inc., Japan's largest broadcaster. Softbank, Yahoo Internet-related shares including Softbank Corp. and Yahoo Japan Corp. fell for a second day. The Yomiuri newspaper said today that Livedoor also falsified earnings to show a profit instead of a loss in the year ended September 2004. Technology shares including Tokyo Electron Ltd. and Toshiba Corp. dropped after earnings from Intel Corp. and Yahoo! Inc. fell short of estimates and heightened expectations profits in the industry will disappoint. The exchange halted all trading for the first time on Nov. 1 because of an error triggered by a systems upgrade. Takuo Tsurushima resigned as president last month after glitches scuttled a planned initial public share sale this year. The exchange said the breakdown in November was caused by a systems upgrade it conducted in October and that it may bring forward the timing of another overhaul planned for February. A malfunction at the exchange on Dec. 8 prevented Mizuho Securities Co. from canceling a trading error in J-Com Co., causing the brokerage unit of Japan's second-largest bank about 40.5 billion yen ($350 million) of losses. Japan's financial services regulator ordered the exchange to submit a report by Jan. 31 on changes planned to improve its systems and prevent future breakdowns. My opinion of the Tokyo Exchange is ``very negative,'' said Koichi Ogawa, who helps oversee $28 billion of funds at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. in Tokyo. ``This type of thing doesn't seem to happen in New York or even in other parts of Asia.'' To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Tsang in Tokyo at [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Tomomi Sekioka in Tokyo at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Last Updated: January 18, 2006 02:04 EST ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Try Online Currency Trading with GFT. Free 50K Demo. Trade 24 Hours. Commission-Free. http://us.click.yahoo.com/RvFikB/9M2KAA/U1CZAA/zMEolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/obrolan-bandar/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
