Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BelowTheCrowd who wrote (712)	6/3/2002 6:25:45 PM
From: Elwood P. Dowd	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 4345

This is off topic but interesting: Knight Trading Blames Stock Decline on Software Glitch By Kristen French Staff Reporter 06/03/2002 03:14 PM EDT Updated from 11:57 a.m. EDT Shares of market maker Knight Trading (NITE:Nasdaq - news - commentary - research - analysis) recovered much of the ground they lost in the premarket session once trading resumed Monday. After plunging below a dollar on heavy volume in the premarket session, Knight's shares were lately trading at $5.97, down 6% from Friday's closing price of $6.35. The company said the erratic activity in its shares before the open was caused by a software glitch in its trading system. Traders and analysts initially attributed the premarket decline to rumors that the company was being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. In a press release, Knight said the problem generated a large series of sell limit orders in its own stock, which were routed to various destinations and disrupted trading in the security. "This was isolated to Knight's stock and had no bearing on client business," the company said. "Knight is operating under normal operating conditions, without interruptions. We are working with various execution centers to correct these erroneous orders in Knight's stock." Knight doesn't make a market in its own stock. The company also said its "strategy is sound, our balance sheet is strong, and we're looking forward to building the business going forward." According to Putnam Lovell analyst Richard Repetto, Knight traded 2.8 million shares at an average price of $1.86 before the stock was halted. The Nasdaq Stock Market plans to cancel all trades in Knight shares that were executed from 8:23 a.m. EDT to 8:48 a.m. EDT. "This is consistent with actions taken by other exchanges," the Nasdaq said. Knight's board recently named Thomas Joyce its new president and chief executive, a position it had been trying to fill for months. The company has been hurt by new trading rules that reduce the spreads the company earns on trades and by a sluggish market. As a result, Knight has been plagued by plunging profits and a slew of executive departures. Last month, the company said it planned to slash $30 million in costs by the third quarter.