NASDAQ OMX Announces NASDAQ Volatility Guard(SM) to Protect Investors and Listed
Companies
NEW YORK, June 2, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC
(Nasdaq:NDAQ) today announced a proposal to protect investors and listed
companies while increasing transparency in the U.S. equity markets during times
of volatile market conditions.
NASDAQ will implement a single stock circuit breaker — the NASDAQ Volatility
GuardSM — which will pause trading based on predetermined thresholds across all
NASDAQ-listed securities. The NASDAQ Volatility Guard will allow data to be
universally available before, during and after the trading pause. Additionally,
the reopening process will be available to all market participants for better
price discovery.
The NASDAQ Volatility Guard will supplement the coordinated effort by the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and U.S. exchanges for an initial pilot
program ending December 10th, which establishes a trading pause for individual
stocks within the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index that experience a price change of
10 percent or more.
“NASDAQ’s Volatility Guard will protect investors and increase transparency by
preventing anomalous trades like the ones that took place on May 6th, while
supporting market-makers who bring liquidity to the investor community and our
listed companies,” said Bob Greifeld, Chief Executive Officer NASDAQ OMX.
The NASDAQ Volatility Guard will go into effect in the third quarter of 2010.
For more information on the NASDAQ Volatility Guard including a video message
from Bob Greifeld, the SEC filing and the Wall Street Journal announcement
please visit: http://www.nasdaqomx.com/volatilityguard
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,
with more than 3,600 listed companies. NASDAQ OMX offers multiple capital
raising solutions to companies around the globe, including its U.S. listings
market, NASDAQ OMX Nordic, NASDAQ OMX Baltic, NASDAQ OMX First North, and the
U.S. 144A sector. The company offers trading across multiple asset classes
including equities, derivatives, debt, commodities, structured products and
exchange-traded funds. NASDAQ OMX technology supports the operations of over 70
exchanges, clearing organizations and central securities depositories in more
than 50 countries. NASDAQ OMX Nordic and NASDAQ OMX Baltic are not legal
entities but describe the common offering from NASDAQ OMX exchanges in Helsinki,
Copenhagen, Stockholm, Iceland, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. For more information
about NASDAQ OMX, visit http://www.nasdaqomx.com. Please follow NASDAQ OMX on
Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/nasdaqomx) and Twitter
(http://www.twitter.com/nasdaqomx).
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The matters described herein may 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.
Neither The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc., nor any of its affiliates (collectively
“NASDAQ OMX”) makes any recommendation to buy or sell any security or any
representation about the financial condition of any company. Investors should
undertake their own due diligence and carefully evaluate companies before
investing.
NDAQG
CONTACT: The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.
Media Contacts:
Silvia Davi
+1 (646) 441-5014
Silvia.Davi@NASDAQOMX.com
Wayne Lee
+1 (301) 978-4875
Wayne.Lee@NASDAQOMX.com
Robert Madden
+1 (646) 441-5045
Robert.Madden@NASDQOMX.com