Nasdaq CEO Simmons Hosts Treasury Secretary O'Neill, SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt, NYSE Chairman Grasso, And others At Market Close - Amex Chairman Sodano, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Oxley, And Congresswoman Sue Kelly Welcome Back Equity Mark

The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc., today announced that Nasdaq Chief Executive Officer Hardwick Simmons joined U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey L. Pitt, New York Stock Exchange Chairman and CEO Richard Grasso, Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services Michael G. Oxley, and Congresswoman Sue Kelly of New York's 19th Congressional District, in a ceremony to close the market at the end of regular trading hours. In a show of unity, the group celebrated together the reopening of America's financial markets following the September 11 disasters.

"Capital markets passed their first day and we couldn't be prouder," said Simmons. "It won't be the last test. Markets will be markets and they made their judgments today. Everybody who wanted to register their opinion today did so. All I know is we gave them their chance and the markets made their opinions known. We'll be back tomorrow."

Said O'Neill: "This morning, downtown at the NYSE, we started the day with our thumbs up and we ended the day with our thumbs up at Nasdaq. We wanted to put a thumb in the eye of the murderers and show them that they couldn't stop our markets today. And that's just what we did."

The number of shares traded today was 2.23 billion. This number could increase and won't be official until 5:30 p.m.

The Nasdaq Stock Market lists over 4,300 companies and trades more shares per day than any other U.S. market. For more information about Nasdaq, visit the Nasdaq Web site at www.nasdaq.com or the Nasdaq NewsroomSM at www.nasdaqnews.com.