NYSE seeks to reduce late-day pileup

• Looking to counter slow midday trading and uneven liquidity, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:ICE) is preparing to launch a midday auction for thinly traded shares after last week's approval from the SEC.
• "The fact that more trading is happening on the open and close today than in the past is a symptom of a larger problem, which is that the market is so fragmented during the day," NYSE President Tom Farley said.
• The last half hour of trading accounted for more than one in six trades in S&P 500 stocks last year, up from about one in eight in that window in 2007.