BATS Global Markets, the third-largest U.S. stock exchange, is in advanced talks to merge with smaller rival Direct Edge Holdings LLC, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter.The report said the deal, which could be announced within days, would create the second-biggest U.S. stock market operator behind the NYSE Euronext in terms of shares traded. ()News about the potential deal comes a day after a technical glitch crippled the Nasdaq stock market to a three-hour halt, the latest prominent disruption to the operations of U.S. markets.The deal would unite two exchanges built by trading firms and banks to challenge the dominance of the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market using technology geared toward rapid trading, the Journal said.
NYSE Euronext is a global operator of financial markets and provider of trading solutions. Shares of NYX fell by 0.09% or $-0.04/share to $42.65. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $22.25 and as high as $43.25. On average, 1269510 shares of NYX exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 533583.
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