SYDNEY (AFP) – Trading was halted on Sydney’s leading ASX stock market for an extended period on Monday (Nov 16), as operators tried to fix “market data issues”.

Problems began shortly after trade opened for the week, forcing a market pause as ASX said it was investigating the cause.

“ASX apologises for the disruption and is working to rectify the issue as soon as possible,” a spokesman told AFP.

The cause of the stoppage was not immediately clear, but an update to the trading platform was scheduled to go live on Monday, after almost a year of consultations and dress rehearsals.

There was no immediate suggestion of a cyberattack.

Earlier this year New Zealand’s stock market was hit by what was believed to be an overseas cyberattack that disrupted trading for several days.