Nasdaq To Begin After Hours Operation Of Trade Reporting And Quotation Systems On Monday October 25

The Nasdaq Stock Market® announced today that it will, as previously announced, extend the availability of the Nasdaq® trade reporting and quotation systems to 6:30 p.m., U.S. Eastern Time (ET) on Monday, October 25, 1999. Certain broker/dealers, however, have been unable to modify their technology to accommodate the expansion of trading hours and attendant regulatory requirements by the October 25 start date. Recognizing the legitimate technological constraints of these market participants, a brief deferral of trade reporting requirements between the hours of 5:15 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. has been sought and obtained from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). "The investing public will now have access to expanded quotation and trade data as part of a pilot program designed to evaluate after hours trading and enhance market transparency," said Richard G. Ketchum, President & Chief Operating Officer, National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD). "In implementing this pilot program, a cautious balance was struck between the critical need for enhanced transparency after hours and the predicament of certain market-making firms whose dependence upon trade reporting technology requires modification of systems that will take several more weeks to complete." Initially, firms will be called upon to voluntarily input trade reports on a real-time basis for trades occurring between 5:15 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Effective November 15, 1999, real-time reporting will become mandatory for all such trades. Additionally, the application of SEC and Nasdaq rules on the handling and protection of limit orders will be temporarily deferred to December 6, 1999, to comport with the scheduled initiation of the inside bid and offer calculation, which is used by many firms to handle and protect orders on an automated basis. Systems involved in the extension include: Automated Confirmation Transaction ServiceSM (ACTSM) will extend its closing time from 5:15 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. for (.T) transactions; SelectNet®, an automated market service that enables securities firms to route orders, negotiate terms, and execute trades in Nasdaq securities, will extend its closing time from 5:15 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Nasdaq Quotation Dissemination ServiceSM (NQDSSM), or Level 2-which carries real-time quotation information for Market Makers and electronic communication networks (ECNs)/alternative trading systems (ATSs) in each issue- will add a new closing spin for market participants at 6:30 p.m., and will shut down the line at approximately 6:40 p.m.; Nasdaq Trade Dissemination ServiceSM (NTDSSM)-which carries real-time trade price and volume data for all trade reports that are submitted through ACT to market data vendors and other data feed recipients-will disseminate trade prices from 5:15 p.m. until 6:31 p.m. The Final Closing Report will be disseminated at approximately 6:40 p.m. and will include all.T (after hours) volume, as well as the high, low, and closing prices. The high, low, and closing price of a Nasdaq security will still be based on the 4 p.m. close; and Nasdaq Level 1 ServiceSM, which disseminates real-time inside quote updates, will move its Closing Report from 4:45 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. In addition, the dissemination of "Today's US Volume" will be moved from 5:20 p.m. to 6:35 p.m. The Nasdaq Stock Market lists nearly 5,000 companies and trades more shares per day than any other U.S. market. Nasdaq is a subsidiary of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (NASD®), the largest securities-industry, self-regulatory organization in the United States. For more information about Nasdaq, visit the Nasdaq Web site at www.nasdaq.com or the Nasdaq NewsroomSM at www.nasdaqnews.com.