NEW YORK, June 27, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) today announced the NASDAQ Closing Cross had a record day today as it was used to calculate the entire family of U.S. Russell indexes during their annual reconstitution.
Approximately 893.3 million shares representing a record $12.0 billion were executed in the Closing Cross across some 3,100 NASDAQ-listed stocks. This compares with 678.5 million shares representing $11.7 billion executed during Russell's annual reconstitution in 2007. To see the top 10 crosses in terms of share volume, please visit http://www.nasdaq.com/newsroom/RussellR2008.pdf.
NASDAQ official closing prices (NOCPs) determined by the NASDAQ Closing Cross are widely used throughout the industry, including Russell Indexes, Standard & Poor's, Dow Jones, and mutual funds across the country.
"This record-setting performance by the NASDAQ Closing Cross demonstrates the high level of confidence industry professionals have in the nation's premier price discovery facility," stated Chris Concannon, Executive Vice President, NASDAQ OMX. "Once again, this powerful electronic auction has given index providers, mutual fund managers, and the investing public accurate closing prices during one of the heaviest trading sessions of the year."
The Closing Cross brings together the buy and sell interest in specific NASDAQ, NYSE and Amex stocks and executes all shares for each stock at a single price, one that reflects the true supply and demand for these securities.
All nationally-listed securities are eligible for the NASDAQ Closing Cross. Russell's family of U.S. indexes reflect 99 percent of the market capitalization of all publicly-traded U.S. companies and are used as benchmarks for more institutional funds than any other index family. They have been the fastest growing suite of U.S. indexes since 1998 with about $4.4 trillion in institutional assets benchmarked against them.
Russell reconstitution day is usually one of the most highly anticipated and heaviest trading days in the U.S. equity market as asset managers seek to reconfigure their portfolios to reflect the composition of Russell's U.S. indexes. The index reconstitution process was completed today and the newly reconstituted index membership will take effect before markets open on Monday, June 30.
For more information about the NASDAQ Closing Cross, please visit http://www.nasdaqtrader.com/Trader.aspx?id=OpenClose.
About NASDAQ OMX
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 Group 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 Group 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 Group 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 the NASDAQ Closing Cross and other NASDAQ OMX's strategic initiatives. 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.
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