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Monday, February 1, 2010

Equity Technical Update #2010 - 3
NASDAQ OMX Updates Technical Specifications to Support 5-Character Root Symbol Listings and Trading

Markets Impacted:

  • The NASDAQ Stock Market
  • NASDAQ OMX BX

Contact Information:

What you need to know:

  • As announced in Equity Trader Alert #2010-1, NASDAQ OMX is introducing new technical specifications in preparation for industry listing and trading of 5-character root symbols.
  • NASDAQ OMX has created new NASDAQ and BX order entry, clearing and market data specifications.
  • Firms are required to be ready for the new specifications and prepare their systems by Monday, May 3, 2010.

Why is NASDAQ OMX modifying equity technical specifications?

Many technical specifications for The NASDAQ Stock Market® and NASDAQ OMX BXSM (BXSM) have fixed-length 6-character fields for the ticker symbol (root plus suffix). NASDAQ OMXSM has created new specifications to accommodate symbol sizes of up to 8 characters to in response to the New York Stock Exchange’s intention to begin listing and trading companies using 5-character root symbols exclusive of any symbol suffix as announced in Equity Trader Alert #2010-1.

How should my firm prepare for the equity symbology changes?

Firms must obtain the updated technical specifications from the NASDAQ OMX Trader® website and prepare their systems to accept the changes prior to Monday, May 3, 2010.

The following NASDAQ® and BX specifications have been modified:

NASDAQ Current Specification New Specification
Order Entry
  • OUCH 4.0
  • OUCH 3.1
  • OUCH 2.1a
  • RASHport 1.0
  • OUCH 4.1
  • OUCH 3.2
  • OUCH 2.2a
  • Rashport 1.1
Clearing
  • DROP 2.1
  • DROP 2.2
Market Data
  • TotalView-ITCH 4.0
  • TotalView-ITCH 3.1
  • GLIMPSE 4.0
  • GLIMPSE 3.1
  • TotalView-Aggregated
  • NASDAQ Level 2
  • NASDAQ Best Bid and Offer (QBBO) (NASDAQ Basic)
  • NASDAQ Last Sale (NLS)
  • OUCH Pricing Feed
  • NASDAQ Market
  • Pathfinders
  • NASDAQ Market Velocity and Forces
  • NOIView 2.0
  • TotalView-ITCH 4.1
  • TotalView-ITCH 3.2
  • GLIMPSE 4.1
  • GLIMPSE 3.2
  • TotalView-Aggregated 1.1
  • NASDAQ Level 2 1.1
  • QBBO 1.1
  • NLS 1.1
  • OUCH Pricing Feed 1.1
  • NASDAQ Market Pathfinders 1.1
  • NASDAQ Market Velocity and Forces 2.1
  • NASDAQ NOIView 2.1
BX Current Specification New Specification
Order Entry
  • OUCH 4.0 for BX
  • OUCH 3.1 for BX
  • RASHport 1.1 for BX
  • OUCH 4.1 for BX
  • OUCH 3.2 for BX
  • RASHport 2.1 for BX
Clearing
  • DROP 2.1 for BX
  • DROP 2.2 for BX
Market Data
  • BX TotalView-ITCH 4.0
  • BX TotalView-ITCH 3.1
  • BX GLIMPSE 4.0
  • BX GLIMPSE 3.1
  • BX Best Bid and Offer (BX BBO)
  • BX Last Sale (BLS)
  • BX OUCH Pricing Feed
  • BX TotalView-ITCH 4.1
  • BX TotalView-ITCH 3.2
  • BX GLIMPSE 4.1
  • BX GLIMPSE 3.2
  • BX BBO 1.1
  • BLS 1.1
  • BX OUCH Pricing Feed 1.1

What protocols are not changing?

The following protocols are not affected:

  • For NASDAQ order entry: INET FIX, FIX LITE, NASDAQ FIX, CTCI and QIX
  • For BX order entry: FIX and FIX LITE
  • For clearing: DROP 1.0 for INET FIX

What is the impact on clearing my trades?

Firms must transition from DROP 2.1 to DROP 2.2 by Monday, May 3, 2010, in order to facilitate clearing of all securities.

How do I transition to the new specifications?

Firms must either upgrade existing ports or order new ports to accommodate the new order entry, clearing and market data technical specifications.

Effective Monday, February 1, 2010, firms may submit requests for new ports. Refer to the NASDAQ OMX Trader® website for the NASDAQ Port Request Form and/or the BX Port Request Form. Ports will be available for use in production on March 1, 2010.

Refer to Data Technical News #2010-3 for more information on market data changes.

Will testing be available?

Yes, testing for new ports will be available on Monday, March 1, 2010, in the NASDAQ Testing Facility (NTF). Testing will also be available during regularly-scheduled Saturday testing on the following dates:

  • March 6th
  • April 10th

Contact NASDAQ OMX Trading Services at +1 212 231 5180 by 12:00 p.m., ET, on the Wednesday before the test in order to schedule your Saturday test.

How will these changes affect bandwidth for NASDAQ and BX data feeds?

NASDAQ OMX expects that the new versions of the NASDAQ and BX data feeds will require 5% more bandwidth than the legacy versions. Please refer to the revised NASDAQ OMX Bandwidth Recommendations for details.

Where can I find additional information?


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