NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc, announces that starting today it will introduce updated Volatility Guards on its Nordic and Baltic equity markets to protect investors and listed companies during times of volatile market conditions. "Building on the previous common Nordic safeguard system, the updated Nordic Volatility Guards will meet the demands of modern high speed trading environments and advanced trading technologies. The introduction of Volatility Guards will further strengthen investor and listed company confidence in the price formation integrity of our Nordic and Baltic equities markets. One of the important lessons that we have learned from the recent market volatility and the financial crisis is the importance of a coordinated strategy to combat market instability, as well as the new complexity of modern, integrated and highly electronic markets”, said Hans-Ole Jochumsen, President of NASDAQ OMX Nordic.
The NASDAQ OMX Nordic Volatility Guard is a trading pause and resumption process designed to restore an orderly market in a single security (shares and ETFs) listed on NASDAQ OMX Nordic and Baltic exchanges in Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Iceland, Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius and the First North growth market.
The Nordic Volatility Guards will be utilized if an order deviates too much in percentage from the last sale price (Dynamic Volatility Guard) or the reference price, which is normally the day's opening price (Static Volatility Guard). When the Volatility Guard is triggered, continuous trading is halted and followed by an auction period which lasts 60 to 180 seconds, after which the order book moves back to continuous trading.
The Nordic Volatility Guards will be implemented today for Iceland, the Baltics and all First North markets and on September 30 for the Stockholm, Helsinki and Copenhagen Main Markets.
NASDAQ OMX Nordic Volatility Guard trigger thresholds
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Dynamic Volatility | Static | | | Guard* | Volatility | | | | Guard** | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Stockholm, Helsinki and Copenhagen | | | | Main Markets | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Index Shares | 3% | 10% | | (OMXS30/OMXH25/OMXC20) | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Other Shares or ETFs | 5% | 15% | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | First North or Liquidity Group C | 10% | 15% | | or spread <=3% | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Penny shares: | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | 0.25-5 (SEK, DKK), 0.025-0.5 (EUR) | 25% | 50% | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | 0.1-0.25 (SEK,DKK), 0.01-0.025 | 40% | 75% | | (EUR) | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | 0.05-0.1 (SEK,DKK), 0.005-0.01 | 50% | 100% | | (EUR) | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | 0-0.05 (SEK,DKK), 0.0-0.005 (EUR) | 100% | 200% | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Baltic and Icelandic markets: | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Baltic shares | 10% | 15% | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Icelandic shares | 10/5% | N/A | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Order's difference from last sale price ** Order's difference from reference price (usually the day's opening price) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Length of auctions: | Duration: | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Auction triggered by breach of Dynamic | 60 sec | | volatility guard | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Auction triggered by breach of Static | 180 sec | | volatility guard | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Period before closing auction no volatility | 240 sec | | guard will be triggered | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------