J.P. Morgan Suspends Traders

J.P. Morgan & Co. suspended two traders Monday as part of an internal investigation into potential violations of British stock exchange trading rules.

The investigation involves trades that were made few minutes before the close of London trading Friday and were related over-the-counter options, the company said.

A company spokesman in New York declined to comment on whether the case is linked to unusual price drops late Friday in shares of Glaxo Wellcome Plc and SmithKline Beecham Plc that raised the specter of manipulation.

Glaxo Wellcome’s share price fell $1.53 to $21.62 and SmithKline Beecham dropped 84 cents $9.24. Those last-minute losses alone caused the FTSE 100 index to drop 30 points.

There has been some concern that banks have been taking advantage of the British exchange’s recently introduced electronic trading system to influence share prices on light days and enhance their options positions.