New York Stock Exchange glitch causes Berkshire Hathaway stock to plummet 99%

A technical glitch at the New York Stock Exchange caused an errant reading of share prices for several companies, including Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.

Trading of shares of Buffett’s firm was halted after the stock exchange’s display showed that it was down by 99%.

Shares of other companies including Chipotle, Barrick Gold and Nuscale Power were also paused due to volatility.

The stock price of Barrick Gold was shown to be down by more than 98% before trading was halted because of the glitch.

The stock exchange said on Monday that it was investigating the glitch, which affected dozens of stocks. The issue appears to have been resolved and trading for the impacted stocks has resumed as of 11:22 a.m. Eastern time, according to NYSE.

The glitch did not appear to be affecting the wider market.

The Limit Up-Limit Down mechanism is meant to prevent extraordinary market volatility and extreme price movements in individual securities.

It prevents trading from occurring outside of specific price bands that are continuously updated throughout the trading day.

The price bands for each security are set at a percentage level above and below the average reference price of the security over the immediately preceding five-minute period.

“It’s erroneous trade reports and will get taken from the tape,” Joe Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading, said.

“It’s somebody having a glitch whether it’s the exchange or a market maker.”

Technical issues on exchanges can hit markets, impact traders’ confidence and attract scrutiny from the US securities regulator.

This is a developing story and will be updated.