Canadian markets halted due to a glitch -- can it happen in the U.S.?

You can imagine my surprise when I checked the Canadian markets and saw them totally unchanged. After several refreshes when the zeroes didn't budge, I even panicked. Then I saw the headline (how did I miss it before) that trading was halted on the Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange due to a computer glitch. Not only that, but there's also no estimate when trading will resume.

The exchanges have actually failed to open at the regular time of 9:30 a.m. EST, and as one reporter put it "have been dead in the water since." If this is frustrating and stressful for me, I can't imagine what the mood is like on Bay Street; how traders and other market professionals must feel.

I'm not sure what could be done if there are big swings and news out of the U.S. While it's true the Canadian markets don't totally track their American counterparts, as they're heavily weighted in oil and commodities and react to news from those sectors often, they are still affected by what's going on at Canada's biggest trading partner to the south.

Still, it may not be the end of the world as the Canadian holidays also don't exactly follow the American ones and there are days when the TSE is closed while the American markets are open. Also, there are four alternative trading systems in Canada, two at least have reported to be functioning and operational. While volumes there were higher than usual for these system, they were hardly normal for the market as a whole. No doubt, though, these systems will get a boost following this fiasco.