The JSE informed clients from 1.48pm on Wednesday about system glitches, saying it was aware of 'disconnects' across its platform that made it difficult for traders to execute trades. The stock exchange apologised for the inconvenience.

Traders on the JSE were left frustrated on Wednesday after intermittent system glitches led to the suspension of all trading activity on the local stock exchange for about 30 minutes.

Further angering traders is that the JSE refused to extend the trading period beyond the 5pm close to help them catch up on the lost time to clear all buying and selling activity on behalf of clients.

Cassie Treurnicht, a money manager at Cape Town-based Gryphon Asset Management, described the technical difficulties experienced by the JSE before lunchtime on Wednesday as "frustrating". He left his trading desk and went for a walk at a shopping mall.

A Johannesburg-based asset manager caught up with his leisure reading and kept glancing at his screen, hoping that normal trading activity would resume.

The asset managers all agree that system outages at the JSE, which seem to be a regular occurrence, are not a good look for the exchange, which often touts itself as the best and most...