Two major brokerage firms said on Friday afternoon that they have resumed sending client orders to the Knight Capital Group, in a potential boost of confidence for the beleaguered trading firm.
TD Ameritrade and Scottrade said separately that they were again routing trades to Knight, after having pulled their business from the firm on Thursday. Many of Wall Street's biggest brokerage firms had withdrawn, unsure of the firm's state after it disclosed a $440 million loss tied to a trading software glitch.
“After considerable review and discussion, we are resuming our order routing relationship with Knight,†Fred Tomczyk, TD Ameritrade's chief executive, said in a statement. “Our priority has always been the interests of our clients, their trades and their assets. Knight is one of many order routing destinations for us and has long been a good and trusted partner.â€
Whitney Ellis, a spokesman for Scottrade, said his firm had begun sending orders to K night around 12:35 p.m. on Friday.
It is not clear whether other clients have returned as well. Earlier on Friday, representatives for Vanguard and E*Trade said that they had had not.
On Thursday, Knight had asked some of its clients to stop sending it orders, while it retested its systems. But on Friday, firm executives called other trading shops, assuring them that it had locked up financing to operate throughout the day and asking them to resume routing client orders.
The firm has contacted a number of potential buyers for at least some of its businesses, as it races to stabilize its finances through the weekend. Knight and its advisers have been soliciting potential suitors for various parts of its businesses, including rivals like Citadel and Virtu Financial, according to people briefed on the matter.
Shares in Knight were up by 62 percent as of midafternoon trading, at $4.15. They had plummeted 75 percent between Wednesday, when its trading sof tware broke down, and Thursday, when it disclosed the $440 million loss.
