Firm held $7B of stock due to snafu

Knight Capital Group Inc. held about $7 billion in stock one day last week due to errant trades traced to a software glitch, people familiar with the issue say. Knight's traders worked Aug. 1 to sell shares while trying to minimize losses because of the glitch, paring the company's position to about $4.6 billion by the end of the trading day, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. The position resulted in a $440 million loss that forced Knight to seek emergency help and agreeing on a $400 million funding package offered by an investors' group last weekend. While it could have been worse, the $4.6 billion position would have prevented Knight from conducting business the next day because it would have lacked capital required by regulators to offset risks from holding the stocks, sources told the Journal. Knight avoided the situation by agreeing early Aug. 2 to sell the portfolio to Goldman Sachs Group Inc., paving the way for the weekend deal. Knight told the Journal it was consulting with external advisers during its investigation of the snafu and had put in place additional safeguards to prevent similar, off-course trades.