Nasdaq Postpones Debut of Its Auction System

The Nasdaq Stock Market’s plan to open an electronic auction market Monday has been postponed for several weeks to allow more systems testing.

The Primex Auction System, as the market will be known, is a joint venture between Nasdaq and Wall Street’s largest firms, which have formed a company called Primex Trading.

The new market will probably open in late September or early October for trading in the 30 blue-chip stocks that make up the Dow Jones industrial average, said Primex Trading Sales Director Kathleen Maloney.

“Nasdaq is extending the launch date to provide additional time for system integration testing,” Nasdaq said in a Sept. 4 message to traders. “We believe this is prudent, particularly in light of the expected number of users and accelerated ramp-up of eligible securities.”

The system seeks to draw trades to Nasdaq by letting brokers look for better prices for customers. It will let Nasdaq use features of the New York Stock Exchange’s auction-style exchange in a trading system for institutional investors such as pension and mutual funds.

Also Thursday, Patrick Campbell, Nasdaq’s chief operating officer and an architect of some of its new trading systems, said he is resigning for personal reasons.

Campbell, 52, who has been at Nasdaq since January 1997, heads its daily trading operation.

Campbell helped design both the SuperSoes and SuperMontage trading systems. SuperSoes, which was introduced in July for all Nasdaq stocks, automatically matches stock orders. SuperMontage, due to be rolled out next year, displays the three best buy and sell orders for each stock.

Nasdaq Chairman Frank Zarb is retiring later this month.