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Title: Glitch Shortens Milan Trading Day

Associated Pres

Last Updated: April 26, 2000 at 1:25:45 p.m. MILAN, Italy - Technical problems shut down Italy's stock market for most of the day Wednesday, leaving investors less than two hours to trade stocks at the end of the day.

The Milan market's only explanation during the abbreviated trading day was that ``technical problems tied to the distribution of information'' were blocking access by some banks and brokerages.

Technicians eventually said software problems caused the blackout.

Trading finally opened in late afternoon. The market extended the normal session for a half-hour, making for a 1-hour, 45-minute trading day.

The blackout came during Italy's extended Easter holiday, which made for a lighter than usual trading day in itself. Traders seemed to take the technical problems in stride, saying they had experienced daylong blackouts on the Italian market before.

http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/ap/apr00/ap-italy-stock-mar042600.asp

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-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), April 26, 2000