NYSE Euronext says any new rule related to short selling should be similar to the old so-called bid test, a type of “uptick rule” that only allowed shorting at a price above the highest available bid.

Short selling is a trading practice some see as harmful to markets because it benefits from falling stocks.The SEC, which issued five rule recommendations last month, is now accepting public comment letters. CEO Duncan Niederauer, speaking at the 2009 Reuters Global Exchanges and Trading Summit in New York, says “We and most of our constituents think (the price test) should be applied all of the time, not just some of the time, So I don’t think our comment letter will talk about a circuit breaker concept.” In March, NYSE Euronext signed a joint letter with other top U.S. exchanges, including the Nasdaq Stock Market, urging the SEC to adopt a circuit breaker and a “modified uptick rule.

Presenter: Fred Katayama New York

Speaker: Duncan Niederauer CEO, NYSE Euronext