Brokers in a tight spot as tech glitch hits NSE again

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) was hit by a trading glitch on June 4 as option segment prices were not reflecting or updating on the terminals linked to the country’s largest bourse. The issue has left many brokers in the lurch.

A Mumbai-based broker told Moneycontrol "Our clients have been complaining. The prices of options are not updating quickly. There is a huge difference in buy and sell price of options."

"In the morning, buy and sell price of Bank Nifty was more than Rs 100, which is not acceptable as Bank Nifty is one of the most active indices. We have already complained to the exchange, but they are not listening to us. Clients are upset as today is the weekly expiry of Nifty and Bank Nifty," another broker said.

In a statement to Moneycontrol, an NSE spokesperson admitted that there was a snag. “A few members have reached out to us and we are examining the issue," he said.

In the last few days, the Indian equity markets have surged on a wave of optimism as the country gradually eases the stringent restrictions put in place to contain the spread of COVID-19. Nifty has risen almost 1,000 points and Bank Nifty has surged 2,000 points.

Technical problems are not new to NSE. Last year, trading was disrupted three times due to technical snag and the Securities and Exchange Board of India had imposed a penalty on the exchange.

"Whenever there is high trading volume, some technical issue happens. This happened when the market regulator banned P-notes and the government slashed corporate tax. This needs to be investigated,"  a broker told Moneycontrol on condition of anonymity.