Flash crash: Israel stocks hit by typo

Uriel Sinai | Getty Images

A trader works at the Israeli stock exchange.

A typing error by a clerk at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) caused one of Israel's largest investment firms to lose nearly 100 percent of its market value on Sunday, with the Tel Aviv 25 falling 2.5 percent for a five minute period.

The share price of Israel Corporation - the country's largest holding company which specializes in fertilizers and specialty chemicals - fell sharply from 167,200 Israeli shekels ($46,385) to 210 shekels ($58) after a TASE member entered a wrong number. The trader was trying to sell shares in another company, according to TASE and accidentally selected Israel Corp.

The mistake caused a mini-crash at 12.20 p.m. local time on Sunday and shares traded lower for five minutes before the index was halted.

(Read More: Nasdaq: 'Connectivity issue' led to three-hour shutdown)

A spokesperson for the stock exchange told CNBC, under its rules and regulations, the order was cancelled and all trades for that five minute period were declared void before operations resumed. The exchange said no new systems or regulations were being put in place after Sunday's crash.

"It's not the first time that this has happened," the spokesperson told CNBC, adding that a large typing error like this is seen every few months. The clerk has been fined 10,000 Israeli shekels ($2,777).

The incident adds to a string of recent electronic glitches which have hit exchanges and banks and roiled the trading world. It comes just a few days after Nasdaq suffered a three-hour trading halt, following a technical glitch.

In China, brokerage Everbright Securities faces tough sanctions after a glitch in its computer systems caused a spike of over 5 percent in domestic stock indexes.

(Read More: Goldman trading glitch could cost more than $100 million)

Goldman Sachs experienced a trading glitch last week that resulted in a large number of erroneous single stock and ETF options trades.

On Monday, Germany's Eurex – a trading platform for derivative contracts – halted trading briefly due to unspecified technical problems. The exchange wasn't immediately available for comment.

By CNBC.com's Matt Clinch. Follow him on Twitter @mattclinch81