Nasdaq Stock Market Inc will be able to support single character stock symbols for Nasdaq and NYSE-listed stocks as of January 2007, the exchange said in a bulletin to traders on November 14.
Nasdaq said it was making the move partly to enhance competition among exchanges by "breaking down historical barriers for issuers to choose the best possible market for their shareholders."
The move would also allow it to provide full "disaster recovery capabilities" for NYSE and Amex-listed stocks, it said.
From January 31, 2007 it will be able to support one-, two- and three-character stock symbols for Nasdaq-listed and NYSE-listed stocks, in addition to the four-character symbols it currently uses.
The single-character stock symbol carries a degree of prestige. It is held by NYSE-listed companies such as Ford Motor Co and Citigroup Inc.
Nasdaq, which competes aggressively against the NYSE for listings, said the symbol that a market assigns to an issuer "should be transferable to a competing market if that issuer chooses to switch..."
Nasdaq said in the memo it would "consider all requests" by current Nasdaq companies to change symbols, but it "must consider all factors" when making its decision. It said that potential developments by an effort led by the US Securities and Exchange Commission to develop a standard "Symbology Plan" among all US exchanges could factor into its ability to offer specific symbols to its current issuers.