NYSE Systems Could Trade Nasdaq Stocks

The New York Stock Exchange’s systems have the ability to trade Nasdaq stocks should a disaster occur that shuts down the Nasdaq Stock Market, Big Board Chairman Richard Grasso said Thursday.

The NYSE has been evaluating its contingency plans after the Sept. 11 attacks, which led to a four-day shutdown of the stock markets.

“We have to ask ourselves some pretty broad questions,” Grasso said. “It’s going to be a coordinated effort, starting here, with the industry and with the public sector.”

If the NYSE, which was not damaged in the attacks, were to be shut down, it has three locations where it can install its trading software, including the American Stock Exchange. Grasso declined to specify where the other sites are located.