Credit: NZX
New Zealand stock exchange operator NZX said on Wednesday it was taking steps to address technical issues it faced in the last six trading days due to an "around four-fold" surge in trading volumes since early 2020.
It said it has appointed Ernst & Young to conduct an independent external review of the issues and potential remediation actions, including hardware and software upgrades.
The coronavirus outbreak, coupled with a historic crash in oil prices, has generated tremendous volatility in global equity and commodity markets as dealers scramble to hedge investments, sell off unattractive holdings and even buy cheaper stocks.
NZX said the issues mainly affected its clearing and settlement system, "at a time there is a huge amount of interest and unprecedented demand in the New Zealand share market."
It emerged in 2018 that the NZX delivered four major technology projects in 2017, including a life-cycle upgrade to its core trading and settlement systems.
The exchange company's annual report for 2017 released in early 2018, said that maintaining a trusted and reliable market infrastructure will continue as a key priority.
The report also revealed that information technology costs had increased steadily over the prior couple of financial years, rising from $6.2 million in 2015 to $7.8 million in 2017.
(Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler; with Reseller News staff)
