Monday, August 10, 2009

Data News #2009 - 36
NASDAQ OMX to Eliminate Flash Order Offering on TotalView-ITCH

When will NASDAQ OMX cease support for flash orders?

As announced in a NASDAQ OMX^SM press release, effective Tuesday, September 1, 2009, NASDAQ OMX will voluntarily cease the use of flash orders on both The NASDAQ Stock Market^® and NASDAQ OMX BX^SM (BX^SM).

How does the elimination of flash orders impact the NASDAQ TotalView-ITCH and BX TotalView-ITCH products?

With the elimination of flash orders, NASDAQ OMX will discontinue the "f" versions of the TotalView-ITCH “f” product suite, including NASDAQ TotalView-ITCH 4.0f, NASDAQ TotalView-ITCH 3.1f, BX TotalView-ITCH 4.0f and BX TotalView-ITCH 3.1f.

NASDAQ OMX had introduced the "f" versions of the TotalView-ITCH data products in support of the flash order offering on the NASDAQ^® and BX markets. With the exception of the Display field that is used to delineate a flash order from a non-flash order, the TotalView-ITCH "f" data formats are the same as the TotalView-ITCH 4.0 and TotalView-ITCH 3.1 data formats.

How will NASDAQ OMX handle the discontinuation of the TotalView-ITCH 4.0f and TotalView-ITCH 3.1f products?

NASDAQ OMX will be expediting the TotalView-ITCH "f" data format termination. The timeline will be as follows:

Effective immediately, NASDAQ OMX will remove the TotalView-ITCH "f" feeds for the NASDAQ and BX markets from the Data Feed Request Form. NASDAQ OMX will also be reaching out to firms that recently ordered the TotalView-ITCH "f" feeds to discuss the transition options.

Effective September 1, 2009, NASDAQ OMX will cease to populate the Display field for flash orders on the TotalView-ITCH "f" feeds.

To ensure that firms have uninterrupted access to NASDAQ and BX market depth data, NASDAQ OMX will begin to work with the individual TotalView-ITCH "f" feed subscribers beginning September 1, 2009, to coordinate the transition to the TotalView-ITCH 4.0 and TotalView-ITCH 3.1 data formats. Given that the TotalView-ITCH data formats are standardized and the network bandwidth allocations for the non-"f" feeds are lower, NASDAQ OMX expects that the customer transition time will be minimal. At the completion of the customer transition process, NASDAQ OMX will turn down the data feed handlers for the NASDAQ TotalView-ITCH 4.0f, NASDAQ TotalView-ITCH 3.1f, BX TotalView-ITCH 4.0f and BX TotalView-ITCH 3.1f data formats.

What is the impact on the Historical TotalView-ITCH data files?

NASDAQ OMX plans to transition the Historical TotalView-ITCH products back to the TotalView-ITCH 4.0 data formats.

• For the NASDAQ Historical TotalView-ITCH product, NASDAQ OMX is currently posting data files in both the NASDAQ TotalView-ITCH 4.0 and NASDAQ TotalView-ITCH 4.0f data formats. With the elimination of flash orders, NASDAQ OMX will no longer move forward with its transition plans as announced in Data Technical News #2009-22. Instead, NASDAQ will continue to publish the NASDAQ TotalView-ITCH 4.0 files to the NASDAQ Historical TotalView-ITCH FTP servers indefinitely.

  NASDAQ will cease to publish the NASDAQ TotalView-ITCH 4.0f files to the NASDAQ Historical TotalView-ITCH product as of August 31, 2009. For historical research purposes, NASDAQ OMX will retain the NASDAQ TotalView-ITCH 4.0f history on the NASDAQ Historical TotalView-ITCH FTP server at least through December 31, 2009.

• For the BX Historical TotalView-ITCH product, NASDAQ OMX will immediately begin posting the daily records in BX TotalView-ITCH 4.0 data formats. NASDAQ OMX will cease the generation of the BX TotalView-ITCH 4.0f data files on August 31, 2009.

NASDAQ OMX will post a Data Technical News item as soon as the NASDAQ Historical TotalView-ITCH and BX Historical TotalView-ITCH specifications have been updated to reflect the file posting changes.

Who should I contact for additional information?

• Contact NASDAQ OMX Global Data Products at +1 301 978 5307.