STOCKHOLM, Sweden and SYDNEY, Australia, Feb. 18, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE)
-- The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) and the Australian
Securities Exchange Group (ASX:ASX) today announced a commitment for
the delivery of ASX's next generation trading system - ASX Trade
powered by NASDAQ OMX's Genium INET trading platform. ASX Trade will
replace their current integrated equities and derivatives trading
platform, and with the new system will enable significant latency and
transaction capacity advantages.

A photo accompanying this release is available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=7107

The Genium INET platform has an average latency of 250 microseconds,
and will allow ASX Trade to increase the trading capacity to exceed 5
million trades and 500 million order book changes per day. It will also
retain the core functionality of the existing system, including the
ability to trade equities and derivatives on one platform. ASX Trade is
scheduled for rollout in the second quarter of financial year 2011
(fourth quarter of this calendar year).

Jeff Olsson, ASX Group Executive Technology, said, "The Genium INET
platform will underpin ASX's next generation equity trading system and
continues the longstanding and successful relationship that ASX has
with NASDAQ OMX. ASX Trade will provide a significant improvement in
technology performance, which when coupled with ASX's co-location
facilities, will offer market participants a trading experience as fast
and efficient as anywhere in the world. This will strengthen the global
competitiveness of the Australian capital market to the benefit of
traders, companies and investors alike."

"ASX Trade is at the forefront of a suite of new ASX equity market
innovations designed to provide tailored services to users with diverse
trade execution needs. Similar infrastructure and access arrangements
to ASX's existing system will minimise demand on the technology
resources of participants and reduce the potential for connectivity
disruption during the transition to the Genium INET-powered ASX Trade,"
said Mr. Olsson.

Lars Ottersgard, Senior Vice President NASDAQ OMX Market Technology,
said, "ASX has always been at the forefront for technology adoption and
innovation. Through our Genium INET platform ASX will be deploying one
of the most advanced and sophisticated trading systems in the world,
delivering speed, capacity, scalability and reliability comparable to
services offered by the world's leading markets."

About ASX

As one of the world's top‐10 listed exchange groups measured by
market capitalisation, the ASX Group (ASX:ASX) was created through the
merger of the Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures
Exchange. The ASX Group operates under the brand Australian Securities
Exchange and spans the markets for corporate control, capital formation
and price discovery, and functions as an operator, supervisor, central
counterparty clearer and payments system facilitator. The diverse
domestic and international customer base of the Australian Securities
Exchange includes issuers of a variety of listed securities,
corporates, investment banks, trading banks, fund managers, hedge
funds, commodity trading advisers, and proprietary and retail traders.

More information on ASX can be found on www.asx.com.au.

About NASDAQ OMX

The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is the world's largest exchange company. It
delivers trading, exchange technology and public company services
across six continents, with approximately 3,700 listed companies.
NASDAQ OMX offers multiple capital raising solutions to companies
around the globe, including its U.S. listings market, NASDAQ OMX
Nordic, NASDAQ OMX Baltic, NASDAQ OMX First North, and the U.S. 144A
sector. The company offers trading across multiple asset classes
including equities, derivatives, debt, commodities, structured products
and exchange-traded funds. NASDAQ OMX technology supports the
operations of over 70 exchanges, clearing organizations and central
securities depositories in more than 50 countries. NASDAQ OMX Nordic
and NASDAQ OMX Baltic are not legal entities but describe the common
offering from NASDAQ OMX exchanges in Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm,
Iceland, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. For more information about NASDAQ
OMX, visit http://www.nasdaqomx.com. *Please follow NASDAQ OMX on
Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/NASDAQ-OMX/108167527653) and
Twitter(http://www.twitter.com/nasdaqomx).

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

The matters described herein contain forward-looking statements that
are made under the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not
limited to, statements about NASDAQ OMX's products and offerings. We
caution that these statements are not guarantees of future performance.
Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in
the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve a
number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond NASDAQ OMX's
control. These factors include, but are not limited to factors detailed
in NASDAQ OMX's annual report on Form 10-K, and periodic reports filed
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no
obligation to release any revisions to any forward-looking statements.
There can be no assurance that the FSA will give the NASDAQ OMX
applicant the authorization and permissions which it seeks.

The photo is also available via AP PhotoExpress.

NDAQT


CONTACT:  NASDAQ OMX
          Media Contacts:
          Carl Norell
            +46 8 405 66 39
            carl.norell@nasdaqomx.com
          Bethany Sherman
            +1 212 401 8714
            bethany.sherman@nasdaqomx.com

          ASX
          Matthew Gibbs
            +61 2 9227 0218
            matthew.gibbs@asx.com.au
          Roula Rodopoulos
            +61 2 9227 0410
            roula.rodopoulos@asx.com.au