"It went off exceptionally well," said JSE president Russell Loubser at the end of yesterday`s trading session that marked the debut of the controversial Stock Exchange Trading System (SETS).
SETS replaced the old JET (Johannesburg Equities Trading system) that has been used by the JSE`s members since 1996 when the floor system was done away with.
The implementation of SETS has been described by its proponents and opponents as revolutionary, not only because it is a new trading system, but also because it has introduced a new trading methodology. This includes the appearance of an auction process that is designed to smooth out volatility and to encourage activity in less-liquid stocks and sectors.
Loubser says there was no down time on the first day of trade and the hiccups experienced "were insignificant within the broader picture".
Although Mondays are generally one of the quieter trading days for the JSE, the system processed more than R3.1 billion worth of deals. Of the 584 shares and instruments listed on the JSE, 471 traded.
One hiccup reported by dealers was that the JSE had posted incorrect turnover figures at one stage, but the actual trade execution went without a hitch.
"I was surprised at just how smoothly things went. Although we had a couple of weekends worth of training and dress rehearsals, the real test was today [Monday]," one dealer says.
He says the majority of the problems were in-house as they mated their custom front-end software with SETS. "But even there, the problems were so insignificant that they did not impact on our operations."
Another dealer says the biggest lesson learnt yesterday was that his PC needed more memory. "Unfortunately we now have to spend a little more in upgrading our PCs, but I suppose it will be worth it," he says.
On Friday, 17 May, President Thabo Mbeki will officially launch SETS when he visits the exchange for the first time.
"We don`t want to talk too much about the system until then," Loubser says.
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