Nasdaq Copenhagen Improves Small Cap Market Access for Non-Nordic Trading Members

Copenhagen, November 19, 2018— Nasdaq (Nasdaq:NDAQ) announced today that Nasdaq Copenhagen is introducing a central counterparty participant for equity trading in its small cap market segment. The introduction removes bilateral counterparty risk, reduces transaction costs for trading members and aligns the post trade setup for equity trading on all main market segments at Nasdaq Copenhagen.

“Improving market conditions for SMEs and growth companies is a pivotal priority for Nasdaq Nordic,” said Nikolaj Kosakewitsch, VP European Equity Sales & President of Nasdaq Copenhagen. “By doing away with bilateral arrangements in our small cap segment, we aim to attract more liquidity, narrow the spreads and lower the cost of capital for Nasdaq Copenhagen’s listed small cap companies. Just as we have done for our other main market segments.”

In 2009 Nasdaq Nordic introduced the central counterparty participant for large cap shares in Copenhagen and Stockholm, and for all market cap segments in Helsinki. After the introduction, the share of non-Nordic trading in Nasdaq Copenhagen listed equities trippled from 25 pct. to 75 pct. In the same period the time-weighted average price spread for Copenhagen large caps dropped from 0.4 pct. to 0.09 pct.

 “We welcome Nasdaq’s commitment to improving access to this growth segment,” said Tue Østergaard, Head of Markets and Managing Partner at ABG Sundal Collier. “Improving accessibility for non-Nordic trading members will, all things being equal, improve liquidity into the small cap segment on the exchange, remove unnecessary barriers for greater liquidity and open the door to more investor interest.”

The central counterparty participant for the Copenhagen small cap segment will be introduced at market open Monday November 19, 2018.

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Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) is a leading global provider of trading, clearing, exchange technology, listing, information and public company services. Through its diverse portfolio of solutions, Nasdaq enables customers to plan, optimize and execute their business vision with confidence, using proven technologies that provide transparency and insight for navigating today's global capital markets. As the creator of the world's first electronic stock market, its technology powers more than 100 marketplaces in 50 countries, and 1 in 10 of the world's securities transactions. Nasdaq is home to over 4,000 total listings with a market value of approximately $15 trillion. To learn more, visit business.nasdaq.com.

Nasdaq Copenhagen, Nasdaq Helsinki, Nasdaq Iceland, Nasdaq Riga, Nasdaq Stockholm, Nasdaq Tallinn, Nasdaq Vilnius, Nasdaq Clearing and Nasdaq Broker Services are respectively brand names for the regulated markets of Nasdaq Copenhagen A/S, Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd., Nasdaq Iceland hf., Nasdaq Riga, AS, Nasdaq Stockholm AB, Nasdaq Tallinn AS, AB Nasdaq Vilnius, Nasdaq Clearing AB and Nasdaq Broker Services AB. Nasdaq Nordic represents the common offering by Nasdaq Copenhagen, Nasdaq Helsinki, Nasdaq Iceland and Nasdaq Stockholm. Nasdaq Baltic represents the common offering by Nasdaq Tallinn, Nasdaq Riga and Nasdaq Vilnius.

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