NASD Delays Implementation of After-Hours Quote Calculation

Washington, DC, December 3, 1999 - In October 1999, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) granted accelerated approval to a pilot program that extends the availability of some of the Nasdaq Stock Market’s (Nasdaq) trade reporting and quote dissemination systems until 6:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) to accommodate after-hours trading. As part of the pilot program, Nasdaq will begin to calculate a post 4:00 p.m. EST inside quote (i.e., the best bid and ask) for those Nasdaq securities that exhibit after-hours quotation activity.

On December 1, Nasdaq announced in a press release that it will delay the implementation of inside quotation calculations in the after-hours trading market until February 7, 2000. At that time, Nasdaq will calculate a continuous inside quote throughout the after-hours session in those securities in which market participants have entered quotations.