The dollar volume of trading totaled $2.9 trillion in the second quarter, a 39.6 percent decrease from $4.8 trillion in the same period in 2000, and a 39.6 percent decline from the fourth quarter of 2000. Daily dollar volume in the second quarter averaged $45.5 billion.
The Nasdaq Composite® Index ended the second quarter of this year 12.5 percent lower from the fourth quarter of 2000. Compared to the first quarter last year, the Composite fell 45.5 percent.
The market value of the more than 4,300 companies listed on Nasdaq stood at $3.2 trillion at the end of the second quarter, down 11.1 percent from year-end 2000, and 41.8 percent lower from the second quarter one year ago.
All Securities Listed on Nasdaq Now Trade and Quote in Decimals
Nasdaq announced on April 9, 2001 that with the successful "big bang" implementation of decimal trading, all Nasdaq® equity securities began quoting and trading in decimals rather than fractions for the first time in history. Two previous pilot implementations of 212 Nasdaq stocks and two OTC Bulletin Board® securities were carried out according to plan on March 12 and March 26, 2001. To achieve the results, virtually every computer system within Nasdaq was changed. This included an upgrade of the Enterprise Wide Network, a change to Nasdaq Workstations to allow for the display of decimal information, replacement of front-end processors with a higher-capacity computer architecture that allows for quoting and matching of decimals trades, and upgrades to back-office batch processing systems that calculate indices, dividends, etc. A similar effort took place among Nasdaq broker-dealers that required them to assess and redesign their systems and business models. The conversion by Nasdaq to decimals was governed by the Decimals Implementation Plan For the Equities and Options Markets that was submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on July 24, 2000.
Nasdaq to Become a Public Company
The Board of Directors of Nasdaq announced on April 26, 2001 its decision to become a publicly traded company. The specific timing of an initial public offering (IPO) will depend on a variety of factors, notably: recognition for Nasdaq by the Securities and Exchange Commission that it meets its requirements for "exchange" status; progress on several important technology initiatives, including SuperMontageSM (Nasdaq's next generation trading system, slated for completion in early 2002), and; market conditions. The Nasdaq Board is expected to actively revisit the timing of an IPO in the Fall with the earliest time being sometime in 2002. The Nasdaq Stock Market and the NASD began formally studying the issue of governance and restructuring options in mid-1999 in the face of the challenging, dynamic and increasingly competitive market.
Helen Kearns Named President of Nasdaq Canada
Nasdaq announced on May 1, 2001 that Helen M. Kearns had been named President of Nasdaq CanadaSM. Ms. Kearns is responsible for leading the overall operation, growth, and development of the company. Nasdaq Canada was launched by Nasdaq in November 2000 to provide Canadian investors with a new opportunity to invest in high-growth Canadian companies, U.S. and non-U.S. securities, and to provide Canadians with the ability to raise capital more efficiently. Ms. Kearns joined Nasdaq Canada on May 15, 2001. With over 20 years experience in the Canadian capital markets, Ms. Kearns joined Nasdaq Canada from Kearns Capital Corporation, where she specialized in underwriting and financial advisory services for high growth, new economy companies. During her career on Bay Street, Ms. Kearns was head of institutional equity sales and trading at Richardson Greenshields of Canada Limited.
Nasdaq Celebrates the Move of Its Headquarters to New York City with Governor Pataki and Mayor Giuliani
On April 18, 2001, Nasdaq announced that it has established One Liberty Plaza in lower Manhattan as the location of its new headquarters. The event was celebrated with a market opening ceremony presided over by New York Governor George Pataki and New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square. With over 219,000 square feet leased over a 20-year period, the new headquarters will serve as Nasdaq's executive and corporate offices. This move of Nasdaq's headquarters is part of an agreement which includes: establishing and maintaining Nasdaq headquarters in New York City, maintaining Amex headquarters and trading floor operations in New York City, and maintaining current NASD regional offices for the 20-year term. Formerly based in Washington, D.C., Nasdaq's relocation follows recent steps it has taken to become independent from the NASD, its former parent organization.
Nasdaq Sets New Share Volume Record
Nasdaq announced on April 18, 2001 that it experienced its heaviest trading session ever, with figures showing more than 3.19 billion shares were traded. The record was set only seven trading days after all equity securities on Nasdaq began quoting and trading in decimals rather than fractions for the first time in history. It was the second time daily share volume has exceeded 3 billion shares on Nasdaq. Nasdaq's previous record was set on January 3, 2001, when 3.18 billion shares changed hands.
