NASDAQ OMX EUROPE TO LAUNCH NEURO DARK POOL

Posted March 18, 2009

LONDON -- Nasdaq OMX Europe plans to launch a new pan-European dark pool, NEURO Dark, a reference price system based on best bid and offer prices that will offer similar functionality to that of Nasdaq OMX Europe. NEURO Dark is scheduled to debut on April 27 with about 800 of the most actively traded European blue chip shares, pending approval by the UK’s Financial Services Authority.

"We recognize customer demand for a non-displayed marketplace that is not limited to block- or large-in-scale orders,” says Charlotte Crosswell, President of Nasdaq OMX Europe. “We are responding by offering a dark pool for all order sizes, one that can take advantage of existing order routing functionality."

NEURO Dark will have smart order routing functionality, while providing a low-cost marketplace for non-displayed liquidity. The platform will use the same INET technology employed by Nasdaq OMX Europe, by matching orders in the dark pool and routing unexecuted orders to other non-displayed MTFs. NEURO Dark will also offer firms the ability to enter an internalized order type.