NYSE, Nasdaq set to reopen

The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq exchange were set to reopen on Wednesday after Hurricane Sandy forced a two-day shutdown, the markets' first closure since the September 11 attacks of 2001. "We are pleased to be able to return to normal trading tomorrow," NYSE Euronext chief executive Duncan Niederauer said late Tuesday. "Our building and systems were not damaged and our people have been working diligently to ensure that we have a smooth opening tomorrow." Niederauer said trading will start as usual at 9:30 am, with the NYSE Euronext building and trading floor "fully operational" despite the flooding and power outages that have shut down much of the country's financial capital New York. Nasdaq OMX, which operates the fully electronic Nasdaq exchange and other futures and options markets, said they would also reopen at normal hours on Wednesday. US financial markets were almost all closed Monday and Tuesday as the mega-storm bore down on the US East Coast, shutting down New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington. It was the first closure of the markets since 9/11 and the first weather-related closure since September 1985 when Hurricane Gloria closed the NYSE for one day.