Key Moments
- ASX experienced a multi-hour outage on Monday, leaving trading in certain companies suspended while others resumed.
- The disruption hit as regulators scrutinise ASX’s governance, risk management, and clearing and settlement systems.
- The incident followed a nearly 10-hour outage at CME that disrupted global forex and commodities pricing and liquidity.
Partial Trading Restart After ASX System Failure
The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) encountered a significant technical disruption on Monday morning, halting trading on the primary Australian equity market for several hours.
According to an update from the exchange, ASX Trade remains fully operational
and it has released all corporate announcements received after 11:22 am Sydney time. Despite this, trading remains on hold in securities where price-sensitive disclosures were impacted by the interruption.
ASX noted that it is coordinating with issuers whose announcements were caught in the outage and confirmed that trading in those companies will not resume until the relevant disclosures are made public.
The exchange stated: Companies that had been placed in a trading pause will resume trading once their announcements are published.
Breaking: Massive glitch at the heart of global markets overnight.
CME Group, the world’s largest futures and options exchange operator, was forced to halt trading from 10pm-2am PT after a cooling failure at a key data center in the Chicago area.
The breakdown froze trading on… pic.twitter.com/tYDBIXiII9
— Jack Connor (@itsj_connor) November 28, 2025
Regulatory Scrutiny Intensifies
This latest malfunction adds to the pressure on the Australian bourse operator, which is already facing heightened oversight from domestic regulators. Authorities have raised concerns about deficiencies in ASX’s governance, capability and risk management frameworks and practices across the group.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) launched a joint review earlier this year after a series of previous outages and technology problems. The probe extends to the clearing and settlement operations of the exchange.
Clearing System Overhaul and Costly Missteps
ASX has been attempting to modernize its core post-trade infrastructure. In 2017, the exchange initiated a project to replace its legacy clearing and settlement software with a blockchain-based platform. The initiative was repeatedly delayed and ultimately scrapped in 2022.
Following the abandonment of that plan, the exchange engaged India’s Tata Consultancy Services in the subsequent year to implement a phased upgrade of the clearing and settlement platform. The first phase of this staged rollout is planned for 2026, with projected costs ranging between AU$105 million and AU$125 million.
Operational issues have not been limited to systems architecture. In August last year, ASX mistakenly linked one of the country’s major internet providers to an unrelated takeover announcement. The error erased more than AU$400 million in market value from the company’s listed shares before the exchange intervened, suspended trading in the stock, and later declared that the erroneous trades had been cancelled.
Selected ASX Technology and Operational Issues
| Issue | Description | Timing (as stated) | Estimated Financial Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday trading outage | Multi-hour technical outage; partial resumption with some securities still suspended due to pending announcements. | Monday morning (Sydney time); corporate statements published after 11:22 am | Not specified |
| Blockchain clearing project cancellation | Abandoned plan to replace legacy clearing and settlement platform with blockchain-based system. | Project began in 2017; abandoned in 2022 | Not specified |
| Tata Consultancy Services engagement | Staged upgrade of clearing and settlement platform. | Engagement started the year after 2022; first delivery scheduled for 2026 | AU$105 million – AU$125 million (estimated) |
| Incorrect takeover tagging | Mislabeling of a major internet provider in an unrelated takeover announcement leading to trading suspension and trade cancellations. | Last August | Over AU$400 million wiped from listed stocks |
Global Context: CME Outage Highlights Market Vulnerabilities
The ASX incident follows a major disruption at another key market operator. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), described as one of the largest derivatives venue operators, experienced an outage of nearly 10 hours last Friday.
The malfunction at CME’s data centres affected its widely used currency platform and futures markets linked to foreign exchange, commodities, Treasuries, and equities. During the interruption, pricing and liquidity in forex and commodities markets worldwide experienced substantial disruption.
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