Broker Error Raises Kraft Market Price 29% in First Minute of Trading

Those holding stock in the Kraft Foods Group Inc were surprised, to say the least, when on Thursday October 4th the Kraft shares opened at $45.55 then surged to $58.54. The Nasdaq attributed the rapid change to “broker error.” This occurred only days after Kraft Foods and Mondelez International, a former part of Kraft foods began trading as two separate companies.

Those holding stock in the Kraft Foods Group Inc were surprised, to say the least, when on Thursday October 4th the Kraft shares opened at $45.55 then surged to $58.54. The Nasdaq attributed the rapid change to “broker error.” This occurred only days after Kraft Foods and Mondelez International, a former part of Kraft foods began trading as two separate companies.

Nasdaq and other exchanges, including the NYSE Arca, Direct Edge and BATS, agreed to cancel all trades above $47.82 that occurred during a one-minute window at 9:30 a.m. eastern time.

What happened? Who knows; no names have been released. But even if you do not own any Kraft or Mondelez shares, the substantial blip and blips like it are something to be aware of. There have been several notable trading glitches, leaving many pointing fingers at the increasingly complicated electronic systems that run stock trading instead of fat-fingered traders. Those systems appear to be straining to accommodate the volume of trades and the speed—in a fraction of a second—at which some institutional investors are making trades.