Nasdaq sent out an alert at 12:14 p.m. on Thursday informing traders it was "halting trading in all," stocks listed on the Nasdaq exchange "until further notice."
The alert is shown below:
Nasdaq intends to re-open trading in all Tape C securities with a halt cross with a 5-minute quote only period starting at a time to be determined. Nasdaq will not be canceling open orders on the book. Customers who wish to cancel their orders may do so and any customer who wishes to not participate in the re-opening should cancel their orders prior to the resumption of trading.
This halt includes corporate giants such as Apple and Microsoft.
The Securities and Exchange Commission also issued a statement: "We are monitoring the situation and are in close contact with the exchanges."
According to reports Nasdaq claims this is due to a technical issue.
[Update] According to MarketWatch the Nasdaq trading halt has " locked up trading in stocks with a total market capitalization of $5.7 trillion."
[Final Update] After three full hours, trading has reportedly resumed.
[Update] Videos added below:
Cross posted at Before it's News