Glitch closes Tokyo Stock Exchange

TOKYO - A computer systems failure closed down stock trading at the Tokyo Stock Exchange for most of yesterday, the worst disruption ever for Asia's largest bourse.

The suspension affected all cash stocks of more than 2300 issues and convertible bonds on the world's second-biggest market, worth some US$4 trillion ($5.7 trillion). The outage was worse than one in 1997 when a system problem forced the TSE to suspend morning trading.

The halt came a day after the exchange's Topix index hit a five-year closing high .

Tokyo stock prices advanced after the day's trade started in mid-afternoon, but traders and analysts said the suspension may be a setback to the bourse's ambition to go public as early as next fiscal year starting in April.

- REUTERS