Expensive typo for Japanese broker

A typing error has cost Japanese broking firm Mizuho Securities at least 27 billion yen ($325 million).


Last week a trader at Mizuho accidentally sold 610,000 shares at 1 yen (1.1c) a piece in a job-recruiting company called J-Com. He had actually intended to sell 1 share at 610,000 yen ($7276).

The Tokyo Stock Exchange processed the order even though another trader tried to cancel it three times.


The glitch spooked the Japanese market, contributing to a 1.95 per cent drop in the benchmark Nikkei 225 index. The exchange says it doesn't cancel transactions even if they are executed on erroneous orders.


The Japanese Government has rebuked the exchange.