Inside these posts: Quote stuffing

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SEC looks at stub quote ban after flash crash

Regulators probing the stock market “flash crash” in May still have not uncovered a single cause but will point to “stub quotes” and other previously identified issues as having exacerbated the market’s dramatic drop, according to two sources familiar with the probe.

A third source said the Securities and Exchange Commission is still asking about a “smoking gun” that might explain the May 6 crash, when the Dow Jones industrial average plunged some 700 points before sharply recovering, all in about 20 minutes. Get the full story »

SEC probes role of canceled trades in flash crash

A trader watches the numbers in the S&P 500 pit at the CBOE on May 6 during the Dow's 1,000-point freefall. The stock markets recovered and finished the day down about 3 percent. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

A trader watches the numbers in the S&P 500 pit at the CBOE on May 6 during the Dow's 1,000-point freefall. Stocks recovered, finishing down about 3 percent. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Regulators are scrutinizing what some in the stock market are calling “quote stuffing,” trading in which unusually large numbers of orders to buy or sell stocks are placed in a fraction of a second, only to be canceled almost immediately.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has begun looking into whether the practice is putting some investors at a disadvantage by distorting stock prices, according to people familiar with the matter. The SEC is looking at what role, if any, quote stuffing played in the May 6 “flash crash,” when the Dow Jones Industrial Average collapsed 700 points in minutes, the people say. Get the full story »