Wall Street markets were disrupted on Thursday when trading on the Nasdaq halted Thursday afternoon because of a problem in distributing stock price quotes.
Traffic on the exchange stopped at 12:14 p.m. Eastern time, the exchange said on its Web site. Options trading was also halted, the exchange said. Nasdaq was not immediately available for comment. Trading continued on the New York Stock Exchange.
Before the disruption, Wall Street was trading higher, as solid economic figures out of China and Europe helped lift the mood in a week when investors have been largely fretting over when the Federal Reserve would start to reduce its monetary stimulus program.
Shortly after 2 p.m., the Standard Poor’s 500-stock index was 0.7 percent higher, and the Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.4 percent. When it halted trading, the Nasdaq composite was up 0.9 percent.
Though the minutes of the last Fed policy meeting, published on Wednesday, showed that most officials appeared comfortable with the idea of starting to reduce the stimulus this year, there was less clarity over whether the so-called tapering would begin in September or December. The Fed has been purchasing $85 billion of financial assets a month to help keep interest rates low and spur growth.
Better-than-expected figures out of China and Europe helped investors to focus on something different.
A survey from HSBC provided further evidence that China, the world’s second-largest economy, may be over its recent soft patch. Its monthly purchasing managers’ index — a gauge of business activity — rose to 50.1 points for August from 47.7 in July. Numbers above 50 indicate an expansion in activity.
The monthly composite purchasing managers’ index for the 17-country euro zone, which includes both manufacturing and services, rose to 51.7 in August from 50.4. The index, published by financial information company Markit, is now at its highest level since June 2011, providing evidence that the euro zone recovery from recession is gathering pace.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed up 0.9 percent at 6,446.87 while Germany’s DAX rose 1.4 percent to 8,397.89. The CAC 40 in France ended 1.1 percent higher at 4,059.12.
On Wednesday, United States stocks had a very volatile day as investors digested the Fed minutes. After dropping sharply, they recovered to briefly trade higher before ending up modestly down. The dollar was also volatile, but it remains largely on the ascendant as traders price in the prospect of Fed tapering as soon as next month.
The euro was slightly higher, at $1.3361, while the dollar rose 0.9 percent to 98.55 yen.
Earlier in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.4 percent, to 21,895.40 points. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.4 percent, to 13,365.17, while South Korea’s Kospi lost 1 percent, to 1,849.12.
The benchmark index in the Philippines dived 6 percent, catching up with earlier losses in regional markets after being closed because of flooding that submerged large parts of Manila, the capital.
Oil prices moved higher, with the benchmark New York rate up $1.18 at $105.03 a barrel.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/23/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss