NASDAQ OMX Nordic Introduces Updated Volatility Guards to Protect Investors and Listed Companies

Sep 27, 2010
NASDAQ OMX Nordic Introduces Updated Volatility Guards to Protect Investors and Listed Companies

Stockholm, September 27, 2010 -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.

Length of auctions: Configuration item: Duration:
Auction triggered by breachof Dynamic volatility guard 60 sec
Auction triggered by breach of Static volatility guard 180 sec
Period before closing auction no volatility guard will be triggered 240 sec

About NASDAQ OMX:
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 approximately 3,600 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 exchange-traded funds. 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. *Please follow NASDAQ OMX on Facebook and Twitter.

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.

NASDAQ OMX Media Contacts:

Anna Rasin
+46(8)405 66 12
anna.rasin@nasdaqomx.com
NDAQG