Nasdaq Intermarket

Nasdaq Intermarket is a system that was implemented and managed by Nasdaq to allow for networking, communication and trading activity among those participating in several markets via an electronic means. This network utilized the intermarket trading system (ITS), which is an electronic network linking the trading floors of several markets, allowing real-time communication and trading between them. This ITS platform allows any broker on the floor of one of the participating exchanges to coordinate an execution, reacting immediately to price changes. The ITS is managed by the Securities Industry Automation Corporation (SIAC).

Nasdaq Intermarket was an electronic marketplace where National Association of Securities Dealer  members could execute trades, communicate, and receive quotations on stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange ). Formerly known as Nasdaq's third market, Nasdaq Intermarket used Nasdaq's Computer Assisted Execution System to connect buy and sell orders.

Nasdaq Intermarket competed for retail stock orders with regional exchanges such as the Chicago Stock Exchange (CHX) and the Boston Stock Exchange (BSE). By connecting several stock exchanges, the intermarket system gave traders access to additional buyers and sellers, increasing liquidity and competition, and increasing available investing capital.

Nasdaq had been a part of the ITS since its creation in the 1980s, but in 2005, Nasdaq announced its intentions to withdraw from the ITS the following year. The ITS was originally created when most trading was done via a manual process by floor-based traders. Technological advances since that time have introduced new and more innovative systems for conducting trade activity in a fast, connected atmosphere. In announcing its withdrawal from the ITS, Nasdaq cited the outdated setup of the system, and said a private, more efficient and high-tech linking system would be a better option. That position aligned perfectly with Nasdaq’s recent acquisition at that time of Brut, LLC, which maintained an electronic communications network.

Nasdaq now has a platform called the Nasdaq Market Center, which uses Brut tools in an electronic communications network, or ECN. This ECN can enable automated, electronic communication and activity. Brut systems are linked to other market centers trading Nasdaq securities, along with national securities exchanges such as the NYSE. Since its acquisition of Brut, Nasdaq has integrated that system with other tools including SuperMontage and INET to form a comprehensive system that was at one point known as Single Book, later to be referred to as the NASDAQ Market Center Execution System.