By Andrew Tangel, Los Angeles Times –
NEW YORK — U.S. stock markets plan to reopen Wednesday after being shuttered for two days following the arrival of Hurricane Sandy.
The New York Stock Exchange’s parent company, NYSE Euronext, said trading would commence as usual with a 9:30 a.m. EDT opening bell.
The NYSE said it was in coordination with all U.S. stock, bond, options and derivatives markets. The New York Stock Exchange’s building and trading floor are “fully operational” despite flooding in Manhattan’s financial district.
“We are pleased to be able to return to normal trading tomorrow,” Duncan Niederauer, chief executive of NYSE Euronext, said in a statement. “Our building and systems were not damaged, and our people have been working diligently to ensure that we have a smooth opening tomorrow.”
Wall Street, like much the rest of the East Coast, is struggling to overcome the paralysis wrought by Sandy, which brought crippling floods and power outages to millions. Sandy was the first weather event to close the Big Board since Hurricane Gloria did so in 1985.
Stock and options exchanges are losing $1 million in transaction fees for each day they are closed because of Hurricane Sandy, according to an industry analyst’s estimate.
Richard Repetto, a principal at Sandler O’Neill, said the giant storm would likely cost NYSE Euronext, Nasdaq OMX Group and the Chicago Board Options Exchange $1 million in net trading revenues each day they are closed.
But the closures of the exchanges Monday and Tuesday would likely cost a loss of a penny or less of earnings-per-share for the public companies that operate the exchanges, Repetto said in a note.
Securities and Exchange Commission spokesman John Nester said, “We have been in close consultation with the markets throughout and support their decision to reopen tomorrow. We will continue to work with the markets as preparations are made.”
While the NYSE, Nasdaq and other major exchanges tested their systems ahead of a reopening on Wednesday, significant hurdles remain for Wall Street.
Chief among them: How can they get to their desks — or, failing that, to a working computer among widespread power outages?
While authorities worked to clear bridges and tunnels connecting Manhattan with Brooklyn and New Jersey, the New York area’s major mass transit systems remained out of commission.
Flooded subways could take days to repair — authorities have not said when the underground trains many rely on would be up and running again. Many stations near Wall Street were reportedly flooded.
Commuter train lines remain offline. New Jersey Transit, which transports many Wall Street workers from suburban New Jersey to Manhattan, has suspended service.
The Metro North railroad, which takes passengers to and from Connecticut, faces damage. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said a boat is blocking Metro North tracks.
The Port Authority Trans-Hudson, or PATH train, system could be shut down for at least a week or 10 days, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said at a news conference Tuesday.
Authorities released a photo of water rushing through an elevator shaft at a Hoboken, N.J., PATH train station on Tuesday.
The PATH train connects the “Wall Street West” towns of Jersey City, N.J., and Hoboken to Wall Street. Jersey City is reportedly without power, as is Newark, New Jersey’s largest city.
