New York, NY—- The NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. today announced that it has enhanced the Primex Auction System^®, the world's first electronic auction for securities, to accommodate features available in SuperMontage^SM, NASDAQ's new quotation and execution system.

The changes to Primex align many features and order types available in these two execution systems. Together, the systems give broker/dealers an unsurpassed venue for trading NASDAQ-listed securities.

"Firms using Primex can now take advantage of the added functionality within Primex," said Dean Furbush, executive vice president, NASDAQ Transaction Services. "With SuperMontage and Primex, we feel broker/dealers have significant price improvement opportunities, helping to facilitate their fiduciary responsibilities to customers."

"Since NASDAQ does not charge execution fees to firms for entering orders into Primex, many of our subscribers intend to use both systems in tandem," said Glen Shipway, Chief Executive, Primex Trading N.A., LLC. "It made sense to have the functionality and order types between the two systems conform as much as possible."

SuperMontage is a fully integrated order display and execution system for the trading of NASDAQ-listed securities capable of handling an expanded universe of orders. It is the culmination of a series of enhancements to NASDAQ's trading systems. SuperMontage, which will begin trading live securities on October 14, makes all market models possible, including auction, market makers and ECNs.

The Primex Auction System is operated by NASDAQ as a facility and is systematically linked to NASDAQ's quote, execution and trade reporting systems. Primex is designed to help brokers improve best execution compliance, increase market liquidity, and reduce trading costs by briefly exposing marketable orders in its system for price improvement opportunities.

Marketable orders of 100 shares or greater may be routed to the Primex system, where they are briefly exposed to an electronically linked crowd that can include competing broker/dealers, proprietary traders, institutions, and electronic communications networks (ECNs). The auction is conducted continuously at and inside the National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO). Most executions in the system occur instantaneously.

NASDAQ instituted the changes today via a software release. As a result of the changes:

• Primex participants can expose marketable orders in the Primex
  Auction System for instant price improvement opportunities, shipping
  unexecuted portions to SuperMontage for execution.
  
  
• The anonymity structure in Primex is consistent with the "pre-trade" anonymity available in SuperMontage. Contra-party information is handled in the same way for executions in either system. Previously, Primex provided "end-of-day" anonymity for trade contra-parties. Indications of interest and auction responses which do not result in executions remain undisclosed at all times;
  
  
• Participants are able to submit orders to Primex with some of the same special handling instructions supported by SuperMontage, such as the "anti-internalization qualifier (AIQ)." An "all-or-none" order type is also available within Primex;
  
  
• Primex Auction Tickers added to the Primex Workstation give users more information about activity in the system in real time. Participants can also view the execution of their orders and indications on an average-price basis.

To view a summary of the enhancements, click here :

The Primex Auction is the creation of Primex Trading N.A., LLC, a partnership formed by securities industry brokerage firms and investment banks including Merrill Lynch, Salomon Smith Barney, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. New York-based Primex Trading N.A., LLC conceives, designs, and licenses trading solutions for the securities industry. For more information go to http://www.primextrading.com/, or contact Glen Shipway at glen.shipway@primextrading.com

NASDAQ is the world's largest stock market. With nearly 4,000 companies, NASDAQ lists more companies and trades more shares per day than any other U.S. market. Over the past five years, NASDAQ has outpaced all other U.S. markets in listing IPOs. It is home to category-defining companies that are leaders across all areas of business including technology, retail, communications, financial services, media and biotechnology industries. NASDAQ is a key driver of capital formation. For more information about NASDAQ, visit the NASDAQ Web site at www.NASDAQ.com or the NASDAQ Newsroom^SM at www.nasdaq.com/newsroom.