“NASDAQ has been successful in facilitating effective, low-cost trading solutions for its customers. With our high-speed options routing linkage, customers will have the ability to leverage existing NASDAQ FIX connectivity in the equities business to route options in a neutral and anonymous environment,” said Chris Concannon, Executive Vice President NASDAQ Transaction Services. “Our options offering will capitalize upon the industry demand for trading options electronically with the ability to make specific smart routing choices and to specify a route to a preferred exchange destination,” added Mr. Concannon.
NASDAQ also announced that it has selected Penson Financial Services for options clearing services. Penson is a leading provider of execution, clearing, custody and settlement services for the global securities markets.
NASDAQ is the largest U.S. electronic stock market. With approximately 3,200 companies, it lists more companies and, on average, trades more shares per day than any other U.S. market. It is home to companies that are leaders across all areas of business including technology, retail, communications, financial services, transportation, media and biotechnology. NASDAQ is the primary market for trading NASDAQ-listed stocks. For more information about NASDAQ, visit the NASDAQ Web site at http://www.nasdaq.com or the NASDAQ Newsroom at http://www.nasdaq.com/newsroom/ .