/ 3 July 2014

Bombay stock exchange shuts after network outage

The Bombay Stock Exchange is one of the best performers in the region.
The Bombay Stock Exchange is one of the best performers in the region.

The Bombay Stock Exchange, India’s second-biggest financial market, shut down during morning trade Thursday owing to computer network problems, a spokesperson said.

“Due to a network outage… BSE decided to close all markets,” spokesperson Yatin Padia said in a message to AFP, after trading stopped just before 10.00am (0430 GMT). The outage lasted roughly three hours, with trade resuming after technicians scrambled to resolve the problems, BSE chief executive Ashish Chauhan told AFP. The BSE’s Sensex index is India’s most-tracked stock market index, measuring the performance of 30 major companies across various industries and seen as a bellwether of Indian markets.

“They shut down only when there is no alternative and it goes without saying that volumes on BSE will go down as customers shift to other exchanges to continue trading,” said Alok Churiwala, head of Churiwala Securities in Mumbai.

The BSE suffered another technical glitch last month, which left real-time data feeds blank for nearly an hour and forced deals to be struck using prices from a rival bourse. The Sensex ended at a record high Wednesday on hopes the newly elected government will announce reforms to revive the economy in its first budget next week.

It has soared more than 22% this year, making it one of the best performers in the region, largely thanks to the rise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose right-leaning Bharatiya Janata Party won a landslide victory in May’s general election. â€“ Sapa