The operation of the domestic first alternative trading system (ATS), NextTrade, has been postponed due to the discovery of errors related to bulk and basket transactions.
According to the financial investment industry on the 7th, NextTrade initially planned to launch the regular market, closing price trading market, and bulk and basket trading market simultaneously on the 4th of this month. However, the bulk and basket trading market, where transactions are conducted at agreed prices and quantities between certain parties, has yet to open as of that day. Only the regular market and closing price trading market have commenced operations.
It is known that the reason for the malfunction in the bulk and basket trading at NextTrade is that the circuit breaker (temporary trading halt) system is not functioning properly. The circuit breaker is a system that temporarily halts stock trading when the stock price rises or falls sharply. It is triggered when the KOSPI falls more than 8% compared to the previous trading day.
Specifically, during simulations of stock price declines, issues were found such as bulk transactions at NextTrade continuing as usual despite the activation of the circuit breaker by the Korea Exchange. When the Korea Exchange activates the circuit breaker, NextTrade is required by its operating regulations to stop transactions for the stocks that are part of the market.
The Korea Exchange will halt transactions for 20 minutes and then conduct a 10-minute single-price trading session. NextTrade will resume trading 30 minutes after the halt, considering the time for order acceptance.
A representative from NextTrade noted, "The operation of the bulk and basket trading market has been delayed due to the need for system improvements, and it is planned to open after system maintenance," adding, "The opening time is not yet determined."