The Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE), will temporarily close its trading floors and move to electronic trading from Monday after a trader and an employee were reportedly infected by the coronavirus, the operator of global exchanges and clearing houses said in a statement late Wednesday.
As a result, the exchange operator is closing the following New York Stock Exchange facilities: NYSE equities and NYSE American Options trading floors in New York, and the NYSE Arca Options trading floor in San Francisco. Trading and regulatory oversight of all NYSE-listed securities will continue without interruption.
Analysts view the ICE stock as a Strong Buy and assign an average price target of $104.27, representing an upside of 49% to the current share price.
The decision is “a precautionary step to protect the health and well-being of employees and the floor community in response to COVID-19”, exchange operator said.
“Our markets are fully capable of operating in an all-electronic fashion to serve all participants, and we will proceed in that manner until we can re-open our trading floors to our members,” said Stacey Cunningham, President of the New York Stock Exchange. “We continue to firmly believe the markets should remain open and accessible to investors.”
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