Ain't over 'til it's over

By: Ray Pellecchia

File Under: NYSE

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Thought I'd share with you MarketWatch's Hybrid rollout nearing for NYSE; Slower speeds raise questions about ability to compete, which is the most Hybrid-focused article of those covering yesterday's NYSE Group quarterly earnings.

Recommended reading. Lede:

Less than two months remain before the New York Stock Exchange launches its hybrid trading system, and analysts are concerned about how the platform will perform against newer and technology-savvy rivals.

Questions about the hybrid system, which will merge the open-outcry floor-based system with electronic trading, hovered Thursday as the NYSE Group Inc.

"It is still too early to draw meaningful conclusions with respect to the impact on market share or volume," wrote Roger Freeman, an analyst with Lehman Brothers in a note to clients, "but we have noticed a significant increase in auto-executed transactions in those stocks that have transitioned."

I listened to the teleconference and I didn't hear a lot of concern, but as you know I'm a wee-bit biased on that. But I agree with the larger point that some make in this article: it's too early to draw definitive conclusions about what's going on.

It's a bit like drawing conclusions in the third inning of yesterday's World Series game. The Tigers were up, 3-0, but they weren't up when the ballgame was over. Unfortunately for this ol' American-League fan. In terms of the impact of the NYSE Hybrid Market, it's still early innings here.

Anyway, happy Friday, folks! You just gotta know that it will be a better day than it was on this date eight years ago:

Today in NYSE History
27 Oct 1997 The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 554 points-the worst single day decline in history, setting off the NYSE's "circuit breaker" rule that halts trading in a rapidly declining market.

Which prompted us to change the point-based circuit-breakers to the percentage-based breakers we have today.

Tags: New York Stock Exchange, Hybrid Market, NYSE, NYX,
trading, stock market, Yogi Berra