NYSE UPDATES BROKER FLOOR TRADING TECHNOLOGY WITH PRAGMA AND MDS PRODUCTS

Posted July 28, 2008

NEW YORK – The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) unit of NYSE Euronext has rolled out two new technologies to give floor brokers the ability to trade algorithmically, and to strengthen brokers’ ability to locate large blocks of liquidity.

The NYSE partnered with Pragma Financial Systems LLC to use its TradeEngine high-frequency trading platform for the broker algorithmic trading capability, putting the platform in place last week. Last month, the NYSE rolled out BlockTalk, which was developed by Micro Design Services LLC, to help brokers find the “contra” side for block-sized orders, using their hand-held order management devices.

“NYSE floor brokers continue to be an important resource for their customers,” says Michael Rutigliano, Vice President-Broker Liaison. ”These new tools will enable brokers to seamlessly blend from their hand-held devices, the high-tech functionality of speed, automation and anonymity, with the high-touch benefits of discovery, price improvement and accessing block-sized liquidity.”

The NYSE also plans to roll out more new algorithmic trading capabilities for floor brokers in coming weeks. Implementing Pragma’s TradeEngine platform, exchange participants will be able to trade all algorithmic strategies on parity, gaining the ability to match on every trade.

“We worked closely with NYSE to customize our platform to meet the needs of the floor broker community, and I think we’ve succeeded in developing a unique offering that will provide tremendous value for its users,” says David Mechner, President at Pragma Financial Systems.

All floor brokers are now able to use BlockTalk, with about 350 broker hand-held devices monitoring for broker-interest alerts. “BlockTalk will benefit traders by leveraging the intrinsic benefits of the negotiation model,” says John Petschauer, Chief Executive Officer of Micro Design Services.