OREANDA-NEWS. As announced in Equity Trader Alert #2016 - 1, The Nasdaq Stock Market will make changes related to the way orders are handled during a halt or IPO. Pending SEC approval, Nasdaq will implement the changes effective April 4, 2016.

Currently, Nasdaq provides firms with an optional port setting which, when enabled, allows members to submit orders for Nasdaq-listed securities during a halt or IPO beginning at system start-up. These orders are held in a suspended state until the beginning of the quoting period, at which time the orders are entered into the system. Orders in non-Nasdaq listed securities sent to Nasdaq during a halt or IPO are held until trading resumes.

Nasdaq-Listed Securities

Pending SEC approval, Nasdaq will begin accepting orders for Nasdaq-listed securities during a halt or IPO at system start-up without any special port settings. These orders will be immediately accepted and entered into the system, regardless of the order’s time-in-force, rather than being held in a suspended state. Upon entry, displayable orders will be disseminated on Nasdaq’s depth of market data feeds as appropriate, and will remain displayed after the halt or IPO cross, if unexecuted (i.e. Displayed Market Hours Day (MDAY), System Hours Day (SDAY), Market Hours Good-till-Canceled (MGTC), System Hours Good-till-Canceled (SGTC) and Good-till-Market Close (GTMC).

At the onset of the display only period, Nasdaq will continue accepting orders for Nasdaq-listed securities and begin disseminating indicative cross execution price and imbalance information.

Non-Nasdaq-Listed Securities

Orders in non-Nasdaq listed securities received during a halt will be rejected until trading resumes on the primary listing exchange. The functionality to hold these orders until trading resumes will no longer be available. Orders that are directed to the primary listing exchange (e.g. DOTA, LIST, etc.) will continue to be sent directly to the listing exchange for handling.

Update to Cancel Order Reason

Nasdaq is updating its order specifications to include the following new cancel reason.

Reason Description
H Halted. The on-open order was canceled because the symbol remained halted after the opening cross completed.

Testing Opportunities

Testing is currently available in the Nasdaq Testing Facility (NTF). Production testing will be available during the March 5th UAT.