NYSE's Trading Halt Could Be Meaningful If It Remains Through The Close: Credit Suisse

The NYSE's trading halt shouldn't concern investors too much, unless it lasts through the closing bell, according to Credit Suisse. The firm said the NYSE only accounts for around 15% of consolidated volume for S&P 500 stocks during the day. Meanwhile, the NYSE does over 18% of its business on market-on-close (MOC) orders, which are market orders executed at the close of trading. "How much does the NYSE's trading halt affect trading? Maybe not as much as the headlines make it seem," Credit Suisse's trading strategy team wrote in a note to clients. "The MOC is a different picture though." Credit Suisse said there is some precedence if trading is still halted for the MOC. "On November 12, 2012, the NYSE did not hold a closing auction when 216 stocks were halted due to a technical failure in the exchange's matching engine," the firm said. "The NYSE was able to publish a synthetic closing price using the consolidated type, since stocks still traded on other venues."