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Sunday, May 9, 2010

CEOs of Biggest U.S. Exchanges Called to SEC to Discuss Plunge

(Bloomberg) -- The chief executive officers of the biggest U.S. stock markets were called to a meeting at the U.S. Securities and Exchange to discuss last week’s selloff in equities, according to four people familiar with the situation.

Duncan Niederauer of NYSE Euronext, Robert Greifeld of Nasdaq OMX Group Inc., Joe Ratterman of Bats Global Markets Inc. and William O’Brien of Direct Edge Holdings LLC will meet with agency officials tomorrow at 10 a.m. in Washington, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the meeting hasn’t been publicly announced.

The SEC is considering regulatory changes aimed at slowing stock trading during periods of cascading prices, even though the agency hasn’t yet concluded what caused the plunge, two people familiar with the matter said on May 7.

About $700 billion of value was erased from U.S. exchanges during an eight-minute span on May 6. Computerized trades sent to electronic networks turned an orderly stock market decline into a rout, according to Larry Leibowitz, the chief operating officer of NYSE Euronext. Nasdaq canceled trades in more than 200 securities that rose or fell 60 percent or more.

Almost 1.3 billion shares traded on U.S. markets in a 10- minute span starting at 2:40 p.m. on May 6, six times the average, sending prices lower on platforms from New York to Kansas City. Federal agencies began inquiries after the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped almost 1,000 points intraday before paring losses.

SEC spokesman John Heine did not immediately respond to a phone call and email requesting a comment.

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