First Platform to Connect Liquidity Pools with Pan-European Routing
London, March 19, 2008 — The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) announces a
new pan-European market to serve customers seeking a highly liquid trading and
routing platform for the most actively traded European stocks. NASDAQ OMX
Group is the first market to connect major European trading centres through a
sophisticated pan-European routing system.
NASDAQ OMX Pan European Market is NASDAQ OMX's first initiative as a combined
company. NASDAQ OMX Pan European Market will enable best execution in high
volume securities trading in a cross-border, multi-market environment. The
market is scheduled to open in September 2008 and at launch will trade
approximately 300 of the most actively traded European blue chip shares. The
launch of NASDAQ OMX Pan European Market is subject to Financial Services
Authority (FSA) approval.
NASDAQ OMX Pan European Market will offer share trading in the constituents of
all leading European indices, including equities listed in Austria, Belgium,
Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway,
Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. By combining a high
performance trading system with order routing to other trading venues, NASDAQ
OMX Pan European Market will be a new concept in European trading.
“European capital markets are facing a competitive transformation similar to
changes experienced in U.S. markets in recent years. We are positioning
ourselves to serve our customers in the wake of a regulatory change that will
break down monopolistic barriers that have survived in Europe but that will not
hold in a post-MiFID environment,” noted Bob Greifeld, Chief Executive Officer
of NASDAQ OMX. “NASDAQ and OMX are recognised leaders in advanced trading
technology and have experience in building fast, liquid, transparent and highly
efficient markets. We have a record of providing a better trading experience
-- such as execution speeds below one millisecond -- while reducing costs to
customers.”
The market will handle displayed and non-displayed orders in one composite
order book. This gives professional traders a wide range of execution options
with the ability to minimise market impact. Clearing will be handled through a
pan-European clearing facility and settlement will be done locally.
NASDAQ OMX Pan European Market is applying to be a multilateral trading
facility (MTF) supervised by the U.K. FSA.
“NASDAQ OMX Pan European Market is an example of how NASDAQ OMX has combined
strengths to identify and rapidly leverage important growth opportunities.
Issuers, members, information vendors and investors around the world will
benefit from this new market as securities trading moves towards higher volumes
executed at faster speeds,” said Magnus Böcker, President of NASDAQ OMX.
By utilising the technology platform that has made NASDAQ the largest U.S.
electronic stock market, INET, NASDAQ OMX Pan European Market will deliver
sub-millisecond transaction speeds - the fastest in the industry. The INET
system is proven in handling trading volumes of more than six billion shares
daily and routinely handles over 250,000 transactions per second. This will
set a new standard for cross border trading in Europe.
“We will deliver the world-leading execution that professional traders seek
such as direct access to our core matching engine, a specific product offering
designed for advanced traders, market data services for co-location customers
and a post-trade fee model that is geared for high-frequency trading,”
commented Mr. Böcker.
ABOUT NASDAQ OMX GROUP
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is the world's largest exchange company. It
delivers trading, exchange technology and public company services across six
continents, and with over 3,900 companies, it is number one in worldwide
listings among major markets. NASDAQ OMX offers multiple capital raising
solutions to companies around the globe, including its U.S. listings market;
the OMX Nordic Exchange, including First North; and the 144A PORTAL Market.
The company offers trading across multiple asset classes including equities,
derivatives, debt, commodities, structured products and ETFs. NASDAQ OMX
technology supports the operations of over 60 exchanges, clearing organizations
and central securities depositories in more than 50 countries. OMX Nordic
Exchange is not a legal entity but describes the common offering from Nasdaq
OMX exchanges in Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Iceland, Tallinn, Riga, and
Vilnius. For more information about NASDAQ OMX, visit www.nasdaqomx.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The matters described herein contain forward-looking statements that are made
under the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about
NASDAQ OMX's products and offerings. We caution that these statements are not
guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from
those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond
NASDAQ OMX's control. These factors include, but are not limited to factors
detailed in NASDAQ OMX's annual report on Form 10-K, and periodic reports filed
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to
release any revisions to any forward-looking statements. There can be no
assurance that the FSA will give the NASDAQ OMX applicant the authorization and
permissions which it seeks.
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CONTACTS:
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.
Media Contacts:
Bethany Sherman
(212) 401-8714
bethany.sherman@nasdaqomx.com
Jonas Rodny
+46 (8) 405 7267
Jonas.rodny@nasdaqomx.com
Investor Contacts:
Vincent Palmiere
(301) 978-5242
vincent.palmiere@nasdaqomx.com
Gustav Back
gustav.back@nasdaqomx.com
+46 (8) 405 6482
NDAQF
