Glitch in market data causes drastic change in Amazon, Microsoft, Apple and eBay share prices

The prices of several big-name Nasdaq-listed stocks appeared on some websites to either spike or plummet well after the closing bell on 3 July, seemingly due to a glitch related to the market data that runs the largely automated markets.

At around 6:30 PM, the prices of Amazon Inc and Microsoft Corp stocks appeared to have lost more than half their value, while **Apple** Inc shares appeared to more than double. **Google** parent Alphabet Inc and eBay Inc shares were among others that all appeared to be priced at $123.47 on some financial news websites on 3 July evening. The actual prices of the stocks were not affected and no trades were completed at that price, a Nasdaq spokesman confirmed.

Nasdaq said in a statement it was investigating the improper use of test data distributed by third parties. Prices on Nasdaq’s website were not affected.

Nasdaq and other U.S. stock exchanges closed early on 3 July ahead of the U.S. Independence Day holiday on 4 July.

Testing of stock exchange software is mandated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and happens on a regular basis to help prevent electronic glitches, often using test symbols and historical data.

Reuters