Nasdaq OMX Sets Neuro Dark Launch

The platform will be tested by the end of this month, says Todd Golub, vice president of Nadaq OMX Europe. The testing phase will involve members, although Golub declines to specify the number of testing participants. "Anyone who is connected to Nasdaq OMX Europe is connected to Neuro Dark by default," he adds. Clearing functions for the venue were already tested with European Multilateral Clearing Facility (EMCF), which clears for the MTF.

Nasdaq OMX's Inet platform is able to handle around 150,000 messages per second with a latency of 250 to 400 microseconds, according to Golub. Minimum adjustments have to be made in the Inet system to run Neuro Dark, he says. For example, the system will only allow pegged orders and won't provide streaming marker data.

Existing Nasdaq OMX Europe customers will not need to have a new connection or set up a separate membership to link to Neuro Dark. End-users can connect via FIX as well as via Nasdaq OMX's proprietary Ouch and Rash messaging protocols.

Neuro Dark will be trading the same securities that are currently on Nasdaq OMX Europe's displayed order book, says Golub. The dark pool will be a reference price system based on best bid and offer prices and will provide similar functionality to that of the MTF.

The new venue will also offer smart order routing functionality. It will match orders in the dark pool, while routing unexecuted ones to other non-displayed MTFs. Nasdaq OMX officials are currently in talks with unnamed partners about accessing their dark pools, he says. Neuro will also offer firms the ability to enter an internalized order type.

Clients will need to specify in a certain field within an order message how they expect Nasdaq OMX to handle the order, says Golub. "Within that field, customers just need to give a different instruction, so they can say 'I want to access the dark pool,' or 'I want to be able to route out to other dark pools,'" he says.

At launch, Neuro Dark will trade approximately 800 of the most actively traded European blue chip shares, according to officials. The launch is subject to concluding discussions with the U.K. Financial Services Authority (FSA). Nasdaq OMX has yet to announce Neuro Dark's pricing model.