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Nearly 21,000 trades were canceled in the ensuing weeks because the exchanges deemed them erroneous. Responding to the episode, the SEC and the major U.S. exchanges agreed on a six-month pilot program that briefly halts trading of some stocks that mark big price swings. The new "circuit breakers" are in effect until Dec. 10. Under the rules, trading of any Standard & Poor's 500 or Russell 1000 stock that rises or falls 10 percent or more within a five-minute span is halted for five additional minutes. On May 6, about 30 stocks listed in the S&P 500 index fell at least 10 percent within five minutes. SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro has said anxiety over the "flash crash" may have contributed to the withdrawal of retail investors from the stock market in recent months. Schapiro said recently the SEC will consider imposing so-called "limit up-limit down" requirements that would bar any trades outside specified boundaries. Limit up-limit down restrictions, which apply to the commodity futures markets, impose a maximum price change higher or lower in a given day. Owners of financial exchanges issued statements endorsing the possible rule changes. Trading limits such as limit up-limit down rules are "a vital means to prevent clearly erroneous trades," and are more effective than circuit breakers, said Randy Williams, a spokesman for BATS Global Markets. BATS operates the third-largest stock trading platform. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., who heads the House Financial Services subcommittee that oversees the SEC, said the new report "confirms that faster markets do not always lead to better markets." "While automated, high-frequency trading may provide our markets with some benefits, it can also carry the potential for serious harm and market mischief," Kanjorski said.
[Associated
Press;
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