Trade Disorder Plagues Nasdaq Handling $16 Billion Facebook IPO

Facebook Inc.’s debut on the Nasdaq Stock Market turned into another setback for American equity exchanges, with the $16 billion initial public offering plagued by delays in trade confirmations, crossed quotes and signs that orders were mishandled.

The pricing of the first transaction took a half hour longer than Nasdaq planned. About 30 minutes later, the second-largest U.S. equities exchange operator reported an issue confirming trades from the opening auction with the brokerages that placed them. Nasdaq later established an appeals process for investors whose instructions weren’t carried out.