London Stock Exchange hit by another IT glitch

The LSE is looking to revamp its core IT systems

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) suffered IT issues yesterday that left traders twiddling their thumbs from 10.30am.

The problem was caused by connectivity issues, forcing the LSE to place orders for shares into an "auction call period", allowing traders to buy and sell shares without the trades being executed.

The LSE was unwilling to release any technical or financial details related to the hitch.

The news follows LSE’s announcement of a 40 per cent fall in first-half net profit as a consequence of rising competition from rivals such as Chi-X and Bats.

The glitch - allegedly the longest in eight years - is reported to have caused a slump of 99.8 points in the FTSE 100. This in turn affects more than 2,800 companies trading shares on the London Stock Exchange.

Earlier this year, in response to increasing competition in the market, the LSE’s new chief executive Xavier Rolet started a restructuring process that included the acquisition of Sri-Lanka based MillenniumIT to underpin an IT transformation at the bourse.

The new set-up – which will replace TradElect, Infolect, and other systems from next year – is expected to reduce IT costs annually by at least £10m from the fiscal year 2011-12.