After-Hours Nasdaq Ticker Begins Monday

The Nasdaq Stock Market plans to stick to its schedule and extend operations of its stock quote ticker beginning Monday to accommodate after-hours traders. The ticker provides the stock price information that scrolls across the bottom of television screens and is distributed to millions of investors via the Internet. On Thursday, Nasdaq officials said the extension might be delayed for a third time to allow stock brokers and dealers more time to upgrade computer systems to adjust to changes stemming from after-hours trading. On Friday, Nasdaq said broker-dealers who are unable to update their systems in time would be granted waivers from some regulations related to the new extended hours. Nasdaq plans to keep its system open until 3:30 p.m. Pacific time from 2:15 p.m. Late quotes also are planned for the system that reports trades on shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Both systems currently stop distributing quotes at 2:15 p.m. PDT.