The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) experienced a technical issue that delayed the release of market-sensitive announcements for approximately three hours. Around 80 companies lodging price-sensitive information were affected. The incident led to trading halts for the impacted companies’ shares until their respective announcements could be published. ASX operates as a market operator, clearing house, and payments system facilitator. It oversees trading across various asset classes, including equities, fixed income, and derivatives.
The ASX cash equities platform opened as scheduled at 10:00 am AEDT. However, the announcement delays immediately triggered trading halts for companies with pending releases. An ASX spokesperson stated that the exchange is treating the matter with urgency and has commenced a thorough investigation to determine the cause of the disruption. The exchange has issued an apology to affected parties for the inconvenience and uncertainty caused by the delay.
Announcements began to flow again shortly after 12:00 pm AEDT, allowing trading to resume for the affected securities as information was disseminated. The ASX spokesperson clarified that despite the disruption to announcements, clearing and settlement processes remained unaffected. This ensured that other critical market functions continued to operate normally throughout the period.
In its communication, the ASX has indicated that initial assessments suggest the technical issue is not related to cybersecurity. The exchange is focused on resolving the technical problem and preventing future occurrences. Impacted securities only resumed trading following the publication of their associated announcements, ensuring market participants had access to necessary information.
