Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) stopped working on Oct.1 due to a technical failure in the hardware. The operator of the exchange said that the exchange would remain close all day.

System Glitch

A technical glitch was discovered on the world’s third-largest exchange by market volume, which caused the exchange to remain shut on Thursday. It is the first incident in the history of exchange that the market halts for a whole day.

Tokyo Stock Exchange’s operator Japan Exchange Group Inc announces that it is due to a failure in hardware. “Due to a hardware failure, the switchover from the failed device to the backup device did not work properly, and as a result, market information could not be distributed,” Japan Exchange Group stated.

However, the announcement further clarifies that TSE is working on it, and the platform will be ready for trading by tomorrow. TSE’s operator said,” TSE is currently planning to replace the hardware and taking steps, including other maintenance, to ensure normal trading from tomorrow onwards.”

It has further clarified that it chose to halt the system entirely for the whole day rather than rebooting during the day because it would cause confusion among investors and disturbance in the trading process.

“If the system were to reboot during the day, it would cause confusion for investors and market participants, which would make it difficult to execute smooth trading. Therefore TSE has decided to halt all listed symbols entire today after consulting with market participants. TSE sincerely apologizes for any inconvenience caused to investors and the people related to stock market,” TSE’s operator concluded.

Trading Suspension for Entire Day

A news agency reported that “Japan stock exchange suspended due to ‘network’ issues; possibly an attack by malicious actors.” However, it is not yet confirmed whether it is hacked or not. But the exchange has denied the claim. Chief cabinet secretary Katsunobu Kato said in a press conference that there is no evidence of a cyberattack. TSE CEO Koichiro Miyahara stated in a press conference:

“After discussing with market participants, if trading resumed today, there was a request that it would be difficult to deal with customers and smooth trading…So we decided to suspend trading for the entire day.”