The bucks stop here: NYSE freezes trading, blames 'technical issue'

Updated The New York Stock Exchange unexpectedly halted all trading of its listed stocks today at 0832 PDT, 1132 EDT. The freeze is said to be a temporary measure, and NYSE-listed issues on rival exchanges are still trading.

The NYSE, owned by Intercontinental Exchange, has blamed technical gremlins. All open orders on the exchange have been or will be cancelled.

"We're currently experiencing a technical issue that we’re working to resolve as quickly as possible," a NYSE spokesperson said in a statement to the media.

"We will be providing further updates as soon as we can, and are doing our utmost to produce a swift resolution, communicate thoroughly and transparently, and ensure a timely and orderly market re-open."

Officials at the exchange say there is no evidence of a cyber-attack, although the FBI said it is "monitoring the situation." The NYSE's status page reports:

NYSE/NYSE MKT has temporarily suspended trading in all symbols. All open orders will be cancelled. Additional information will follow as soon as possible. Customers with questions may contact the NYSE Trading Services Desk at 1-212-896-2830.

The NYSE also shed a little more light on Twitter:

(1 of 2) We’re experiencing a technical issue that we’re working to resolve as quickly as possible.

— NYSE (@NYSE) July 8, 2015

(2 of 2) We're doing our utmost to produce a swift resolution & will be providing further updates as soon as we can.

— NYSE (@NYSE) July 8, 2015

We're also told "NYSE Arca and NYSE Amex/Arca Options are unaffected by this issue and continue normal operations at this time."

The chairwoman of the US financial watchdog SEC added in a statement: "We are in contact with NYSE and are closely monitoring the situation and trading in NYSE-listed stocks. While NYSE is working to resolve the situation, NYSE and NYSE MKT stocks continue to trade normally through other trading venues." ®

Updated to add at 1217 PDT, 1517 EDT

The New York Stock Exchange has reopened after nearly four hours of downtime. The exact cause of the outage is not known at this time.