Nasdaq's announcement on 7 September that it would enter the US options market in the third quarter of 2007 was met with general ambivalence by market users who wondered what innovation the exchange could bring to a potentially overcrowded market.
Options brokers said Nasdaq would have a tough time gaining marketshare in a space, which currently has six options exchanges. Nasdaq's intention to enter into a new field would keep it on par with New York Stock Exchange's NYSE-Arca options market, the former Pacific Exchange.
But NYSE-Arca has spent a considerable amount effort to launch a new trading platform over the...