[Montreal, CANADA] Nasdaq Canada opened its doors for business this
morning, with ten securities firms initially participating in the
trading of all Nasdaq-listed securities directly from Montreal.
The new exchange will enhance Canadian investors’ access to U.S.
securities and issuers with the ability to raise capital more
efficiently.
Currently, there are 146 Canadian companies listed on Nasdaq. Through
the first three quarters of 2000, they generated on the average
trading day Cdn $4.83 (US $3.13 billion) in dollar volume. Initially,
trading in Nasdaq U.S.- listed securities will be conducted in U.S.
dollars.
These totals exceed those for any other Canadian exchange. With
Nasdaq workstations now in place in Montreal, Canadian investors can
get immediate access to both the Canadian companies listed on Nasdaq
as well as all other Nasdaq issues.
In the first phase of Nasdaq Canada, Nasdaq terminals have been
installed initially in ten Canadian securities firms in Montreal.
This will enable these firms to trade the 5,000 Nasdaq-listed
companies directly through their local broker, including the 42
Canadian companies previously listed solely on Nasdaq U.S.
The ten initial Canadian securities firms participating in Nasdaq
Canada are: BMO Nesbitt Burns, Canaccord Capital, Casgrain & Company,
CIBC WorldMarkets, Desjardins, NBC International (USA), Pictet
Overseas, Scotia Capital Markets, TD Securities, and Yorkton Capital
(USA).
In addition to the installation of Nasdaq Workstations at the trading
desks of these Canadian NASD member firms, Nasdaq Canada also created
the Nasdaq Canada Index (symbol: CND), which tracks the market
performance of Canadian-listed Nasdaq stocks.
Index calculation and cumulative volume for all index components will
be updated in real time throughout the trading day. Prices for
company shares will be delayed 15 minutes.
CND will be a market value weighted index and will be displayed on
the newly launched Nasdaq Canada Web site. In addition to the index
value, prices and volume information, the Web site provides share
volume comparisons for dually listed Nasdaq and Toronto Stock
Exchange stocks and offers extensive
corporate information as well.
This is Nasdaq’s first step in an effort to bring Canadian investors
the opportunity to invest in high-growth Canadian companies and U.S.
securities. The Nasdaq lists nearly 5,000 companies, has a larger
dollar volume, and trades more shares per day than any other U.S.
market.
Nasdaq Canada is located at: http://www.nasdaq-canada.com
