NASDAQ OMX Announces Pan-European Market for Blue Chip Stocks

LONDON, Mar 19, 2008 (PrimeNewswire via COMTEX News Network) -- The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) announces a new pan-European market to serve customers seeking a highly liquid trading and routing platform for the most actively traded European stocks. NASDAQ OMX Group is the first market to connect major European trading centres through a sophisticated pan-European routing system.

NASDAQ OMX Pan European Market is NASDAQ OMX's first initiative as a combined company. NASDAQ OMX Pan European Market will enable best execution in high volume securities trading in a cross-border, multi-market environment. The market is scheduled to open in September 2008 and at launch will trade approximately 300 of the most actively traded European blue chip shares. The launch of NASDAQ OMX Pan European Market is subject to Financial Services Authority (FSA) approval.

NASDAQ OMX Pan European Market will offer share trading in the constituents of all leading European indices, including equities listed in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. By combining a high performance trading system with order routing to other trading venues, NASDAQ OMX Pan European Market will be a new concept in European trading.

"European capital markets are facing a competitive transformation similar to changes experienced in U.S. markets in recent years. We are positioning ourselves to serve our customers in the wake of a regulatory change that will break down monopolistic barriers that have survived in Europe but that will not hold in a post-MiFID environment," noted Bob Greifeld, Chief Executive Officer of NASDAQ OMX. "NASDAQ and OMX are recognised leaders in advanced trading technology and have experience in building fast, liquid, transparent and highly efficient markets. We have a record of providing a better trading experience -- such as execution speeds below one millisecond -- while reducing costs to customers."

The market will handle displayed and non-displayed orders in one composite order book. This gives professional traders a wide range of execution options with the ability to minimise market impact. Clearing will be handled through a pan-European clearing facility and settlement will be done locally.

NASDAQ OMX Pan European Market is applying to be a multilateral trading facility (MTF) supervised by the U.K. FSA.

"NASDAQ OMX Pan European Market is an example of how NASDAQ OMX has combined strengths to identify and rapidly leverage important growth opportunities. Issuers, members, information vendors and investors around the world will benefit from this new market as securities trading moves towards higher volumes executed at faster speeds," said Magnus Bocker, President of NASDAQ OMX.

By utilising the technology platform that has made NASDAQ the largest U.S. electronic stock market, INET, NASDAQ OMX Pan European Market will deliver sub-millisecond transaction speeds -- the fastest in the industry. The INET system is proven in handling trading volumes of more than six billion shares daily and routinely handles over 250,000 transactions per second. This will set a new standard for cross border trading in Europe.

"We will deliver the world-leading execution that professional traders seek such as direct access to our core matching engine, a specific product offering designed for advanced traders, market data services for co-location customers and a post-trade fee model that is geared for high-frequency trading," commented Mr. Bocker.

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, and with over 3,900 companies, it is number one in worldwide listings among major markets. NASDAQ OMX offers multiple capital raising solutions to companies around the globe, including its U.S. listings market; the OMX Nordic Exchange, including First North; and the 144A PORTAL Market. 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 60 exchanges, clearing organizations and central securities depositories in more than 50 countries. OMX Nordic Exchange is not a legal entity but describes the common offering from NASDAQ OMX exchanges in Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Iceland, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. For more information about NASDAQ OMX, visit 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. There can be no assurance that the FSA will give the NASDAQ OMX applicant the authorization and permissions which it seeks.

NDAQF

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SOURCE: The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.

The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.
          Media Contacts:
          Bethany Sherman
            (212) 401-8714
            bethany.sherman@nasdaqomx.com 
          Jonas Rodny
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          Investor Contacts:
          Vincent Palmiere
            (301) 978-5242
            vincent.palmiere@nasdaqomx.com 
          Gustav Back
            +46 (8) 405 6482
            gustav.back@nasdaqomx.com

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