UPDATE: NYSE Error Keeps Goldman Off Program Trading List
07 Luglio 2009 - 12:26AM
Dow Jones News
An error by the New York Stock Exchange caused Goldman Sachs
Inc. (GS) to be left out of the exchange's weekly program trading
data last week.
Goldman Sachs is regularly near the top of the NYSE's list, if
not at the top. In the weekly report released last Thursday,
however, even when program trading amounted to an all-time high of
48.6% of NYSE average daily volume, Goldman was absent from the
NYSE's list.
"It was an error on our part in the program trading report. The
program trading report will be revised with a corrected version
coming out later this week," said Ray Pellecchia, a spokesman for
NYSE Euronext.
Pellecchia noted the firm will re-run all of the information
compiled from its member firms, with the firm rankings likely to be
changed and the total percent possibly changed. But given the
annual reconstitution of Russell Indexes, the total percent of
program trading's reach is likely to remain a record, say program
trading experts.
NYSE, a unit of NYSE Euronext (NYX), publishes figures on
program trading - the act of using computer models to engage in
purchases or sales - of its member firms once a week. Program
trading has picked up significantly this year as high-frequency
trading desks have grown.
The absence of Goldman Sachs on NYSE's weekly list raised
eyebrows. Speculation surrounding the matter increased over the
weekend after the U.S. Justice Department arrested a former Goldman
Sachs employee and charged him with stealing computer codes related
to the firm's high-speed trading platform.
Reuters, which broke the news of Sergey Aleynikov's arrest and
criminal charges, said Sunday in a column that Goldman may have
"asked the NYSE to alter some of its reporting methodology after
the firm discovered that someone may have infiltrated the
proprietary computer codes it uses."
Representatives for both Goldman Sachs and NYSE on Monday denied
the speculation, with Goldman noting it had submitted weekly data
just as it always does and was surprised not to be on NYSE's
list.
"According to the data Goldman Sachs submitted, we are certain
we were among the top firms in terms of program trading volume for
the week ended June 26," said Michael DuVally, a spokesman for the
Wall Street firm.
The faulty weekly program trading report is the latest in a
string of snafus for the NYSE over the past week.
Pellecchia noted the NYSE error is in no way connected with a
connectivity problem on Thursday that forced the exchange to extend
the U.S. equity markets close to 4:15 p.m. EDT. Nor was it tied to
the technical issues that caused an erroneous notice of suspension
and delisting for American International Group Inc. (AIG) that was
posted on the Web site of the NYSE for three hours Wednesday.
-By Geoffrey Rogow, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2179;
geoffrey.rogow@dowjones.com