Due to debut within days, and termed "...still a work in progress". Arbitrageurs, are you ready? NYSE Tests Electronic Trading Monday October 2, 10:34 am ET By Gaston F. Ceron, Dow Jones Newswires NYSE Runs Test of New Hybrid Electronic Trading System NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Stock Exchange has successfully completed a round of tests for an improved electronic-trading system it is ramping up in the next week. The training exercise took place Saturday at the Big Board, a unit of NYSE Group Inc., during a two-hour mock trading session that involved floor brokers, specialists and other market participants. They were preparing for the Oct. 6 launch of the third phase of the NYSE's "hybrid market" system. The hybrid market is part of the NYSE's plan to better compete with newer and faster electronic rivals. It also comes as Wall Street prepares for the implementation of market wide stock-trading reforms that will affect how markets compete and that have been approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission. In the key third phase of the hybrid, which will begin with two as-yet-unnamed NYSE stocks and then be gradually expanded, restrictions on electronic trading at the NYSE will be lifted. The NYSE said Saturday's exercise provided "valuable information and experience." One floor broker at the exchange, Kenneth Polcari, described his reaction as "mixed." He said that while the test "absolutely was not a failure," it showed that there were features of the system that needed to be improved. "Some of the functionality was a little frustrating," said Polcari. "It's still a work in progress." For the 214-year-old NYSE, the hybrid market means moving into uncharted territory. Human traders have long been at the heart of the exchange's trading, and it remains to be seen how the floor brokers and specialists will adapt to and fare under expanded electronic trading. As NYSE officials work on the hybrid, they're also busy with other important projects, such as the NYSE's pending merger with pan-European exchange Euronext NV. The hybrid market is expected to lead to an increase in trading volume at the NYSE. The NYSE has said that the goal of the hybrid is to give investors greater access to automated trading while continuing to run the trading floor, which NYSE officials see as continuing to add value to investors. Critics have argued that the hybrid system may be too complex and that it may not go far enough. They're also skeptical of the future of the trading floor. During Saturday's mock-trading session, about 6 billion shares were traded. That's much more than what the NYSE processes during an entire normal trading day -- somewhere around 1.8 billion shares -- but the number traded Saturday reflects traders' efforts to test NYSE systems. http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061002/nyse_electronic_trading.html?.v=1&printer=1
Here's access to a NYSE Hybrid Market webinar taped on 10-03-06: http://www.nyse.com/Frameset.html?n...1.html&displayPage=/events/1159957154748.html To "View or download webcast -- Password required to access webcast: hybrid1003" (The required WebEx Player is a free onsite download)