NEW YORK, March 24, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) today announced that it is leading an effort to introduce a "Modified Uptick Rule," a rule that would modernize and enhance current rules designed to prevent abusive short selling. In a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission today, NASDAQ OMX, together with BATS, the National Stock Exchange and NYSE Euronext proposed the new restrictions on short selling as the SEC begins to consider rules to eliminate abusive short selling from the market.
The letter from the exchanges states that "...under our Modified Uptick Rule, short selling can only be initiated at a price above the highest prevailing national bid by posting a quote for a short sale order priced above the national bid. As such, the execution of a short sale would occur only at a higher price than the prevailing market at the time of initiation, and only on a passive basis." The markets went on to state that, "This restriction would greatly assist the prevention of manipulative short selling, which is so harmful to the markets."
Bob Greifeld, Chief Executive Officer of NASDAQ OMX, commented, "Markets have changed greatly since the original Uptick Rule was first implemented in the 1930s and it is important that modern markets have modern regulation. With the last sale price, or tick, of an actively traded stock sometimes changing hundreds of times in a single second, we have long believed the original uptick rule failed to deliver any prohibitive value. This more modern Modified Uptick rule will deliver critical protections from abusive short sellers to our publicly traded companies and their investors."
About NASDAQ OMX Group
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is the world's largest exchange company. It delivers trading, exchange technology and public company services across six continents, with over 3,800 listed companies. NASDAQ OMX offers multiple capital raising solutions to companies around the globe, including its U.S. listings market, NASDAQ OMX Nordic, NASDAQ OMX Baltic, NASDAQ OMX First North, and the U.S. 144A sector. The company offers trading across multiple asset classes including equities, derivatives, debt, commodities, structured products and ETFs. NASDAQ OMX technology supports the operations of over 70 exchanges, clearing organizations and central securities depositories in more than 50 countries.
NASDAQ OMX Nordic and NASDAQ OMX Baltic are not legal entities but describe the common offering from NASDAQ OMX exchanges in Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Iceland, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. For more information about NASDAQ OMX, visit http://www.nasdaqomx.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The matters described herein contain forward-looking statements that are made under the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about NASDAQ OMX's products and offerings. We caution that these statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond NASDAQ OMX's control. These factors include, but are not limited to factors detailed in NASDAQ OMX's annual report on Form 10-K, and periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to release any revisions to any forward-looking statements.
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